Silver: The Kanto Adventure
by ukrazian
Summary: The sequel to Silver's Adventure. Thanks for reading!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 1**

"Well..." Anna said falteringly.

"This is it," Crystal said when no continuance was forthcoming. "A whole new world,"

"Yep. Kanto... only minutes away..." Silver said awkwardly. He, Crystal, Anna, Tyrogue, Togetic and Chikorita were standing on the platform of Goldenrod's Magnet Train, and the train itself had just pulled in, accepting travellers who wished to go to Saffron City in Kanto. Now that he was here, and he had the tickets in hand, Silver was nervous. He had been away from home for months of difficult travel on his Johto journey, and he looked set to repeat that now. But, he reminded himself, he had also made friends and experienced incredible things. This was his chance to explore the realm of Kanto, and all the wonders that lay within. Not to mention challenge the Gyms, and train up for his next match against Red, the Pokemon Champion.

"You should go," Anna suddenly blurted out. She had been changing her mind every few minutes; once they had been halfway home before she ordered the cab driver to turn around and head back to Goldenrod Station.

"Well, that's that. Come on, Silver," Crystal said happily, grabbing her friend by the arm and dragging him away before his mother could change her mind again.

"Wait a minute, Crystal. I just want to say goodbye. You can find us a seat, OK?" Silver said, breaking free. She rolled her eyes and she and Tyrogue boarded the train at last, whilst Silver retraced his steps so he was beside his mother once again. "Bye, Mum. I'll call you and tell you all about our travels," he said, returning her hug.

"You better. And your father too, no matter how angry I might be at him," she replied. Her and Silver's father, Norman, had had another argument over the phone; Norman had refused to come and commiserate after Silver's lost battle against the Pokemon Champion due to an important Gym battle in Petalburg City, and no matter how much Silver said that he understood, his mother was still annoyed. "Family comes first," as she frequently put it. Silver knew that his father was behind him whatever he did, and spoke with him on the Pokegear whenever he was free to do so, so he wasn't too bothered about Norman's absence.

"Of course. I'll see you soon, Mum, I promise. Bye, Chikorita! Look out for me on TV!" he joked as he heard a loud chime behind him; the Magnet Train would leave in seconds.

"I will, honey. Have fun with Crystal! And say hello to Scott for me!" Anna cried after him as he ran onto the train, and he quickly found a seat next to Crystal; a seat beside a window.

"Thanks, Crystal," he said awkwardly, and she beamed at him as the train began to move. He waved at his mother and Chikorita as hard as he could from his window seat as the train slid past them, building up fantastic speed via the amazing power of magnets. Or that's how the 'Magnet Train Guidebook' put it, anyway, a copy of which Crystal had purchased as soon as she spotted it. When they were out of sight, and the train was really powering along, Silver settled back down on his seat. Togetic sat dozing on his shoulder and Tyrogue sat on Crystal's lap like a happy child as she flicked through the guidebook. They sat in silence for a second. It was odd to think that due to the incredible technology they sat inside, they would reach an entirely new region within minutes, and they found themselves pondering everything they had left behind in the blink of an eye.

"So, where are we heading to first?" Crystal eventually broke the silence, looking at Silver expectantly. Silver had prepared his reply for a while now; he had known almost since he declared that he was heading to Kanto, after all.

"Pallet Town. We'll go to Pallet Town first, because that's where Kanto Trainers start out on their journeys. I think it'll be fitting to start our own Kanto journey there," he said.

"Cool. Besides, we can visit Professor Oak's lab, which of course..."

"Is a major landmark," Silver finished for her, and she giggled.

"You know me too well," she said. "What do you think, Tyrogue? Ready for another quest?"

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue punched the air, but luckily refrained from jumping up in the crowded conditions. They were surrounded by harassed-looking commuters, after all, and didn't want to enrage anybody. Silver looked down to his belt in embarrassment, hoping nobody would associate him with the Fighting Pokemon, and his eyes found his six Pokeballs. Typhlosion, the Fire Pokemon and his oldest companion; Noctowl, the cunning Flying Pokemon; Gengar, the fast, powerful and ever-mischievous Ghost Pokemon; Umbreon, the sleek, dangerous Dark Pokemon; Politoed, one of his finest fighters, a Water type; and finally Wobbuffet. Not much more could be said about the blue balloon lookalike, whose favourite pastime was standing in the shadows or rearing up from nowhere, slapping his forehead, and shouting,

"Wooooooooobuffet!" However, Wobbuffet was a valuable member of his team, and his enthusiasm and perpetually hesitant expression endeared him to others. It was a team to be proud of, not to mention the soothing Togetic that stood on his shoulder, always ready with compassion and encouragement. Crystal, his best friend, had changed little since their separation several weeks ago; she was just as happy-go-lucky as ever, and Tyrogue's ever-present eagerness to please was still evident. When Crystal had come over to Silver's house for a few days whilst they planned their departure, their period of being apart had been a barrier at first; without the uniting challenge of Silver's League battles, they felt awkward around each other, especially after their previous tearful goodbyes. However, it had quickly melted away, and they were as good friends as they had ever been as they sped towards Kanto.

"Is there anything else to do in Pallet Town? Apart from Professor Oak's lab, obviously," she asked, putting her guidebook back in her backpack and looking over at Silver.

"Well, there's the route south that leads to Cinnabar Island. Or what's left of it, anyway," Silver corrected himself.

"What d'you mean?" she asked quizzically. He rolled his eyes.

"Don't you ever watch the news? Cinnabar's volcano erupted and basically destroyed the island! Luckily nobody was hurt, although loads of people had to be relocated," he said knowingly.

"Wasn't there a Gym on Cinnabar Island? Where will the Gym Leader have moved to?" Crystal asked, and Silver gasped.

"Oh no! I forgot about that... well, we'll have to ask around. I'm sure that Scott will know," he said with a faint air of desperation.

"You'd better hope so. What will we do if you can't find the Gym Leader and earn another badge?" Crystal asked herself wonderingly, and Silver slapped his forehead.

"You give me so much confidence. Anyway, you should talk. There was a really famous lab there, which apparently created some sort of monster Pokemon a few years back. It's one landmark you'll never lay eyes upon," he retorted, and Crystal groaned. Their conversation was interrupted by a loud chime, and both of them jumped as they looked out of the window to see a sign reading 'Saffron City'. They had arrived in Kanto without even realising it. "Let's wait a few minutes. Otherwise we'll get killed in the rush," Silver advised as the many commuters jumped from their seats and fought to be the first off the train. Crystal tapped her fingers impatiently until Silver could stand it no more, and the two of them stood up and tried to force their way through the crowd, Crystal dragging Tyrogue along by the hand and Togetic grabbing Silver firmly on his shoulder. Eventually they managed to escape from the crush of briefcase-carrying, suit-wearing office workers, which were both entering and exiting the train, and they stepped onto the soon deserted platform as the arrivals went off to work and the people that had been waiting crammed themselves onto the train. Silver shook his head and readjusted his baseball cap, checking that Togetic was still there as Crystal righted her headband.

"Crazy," she summed it up in one word, before asking, "So how will we get to Pallet Town? It's pretty far away from Saffron City, and Noctowl can't fly both of us,"

"Hopefully Noctowl won't have any need to. We're travelling through Kanto the traditional way; on foot!" Silver said, and was surprised to see her positive reaction.

"Great! Then we won't miss anything!" she said, and the two of them hurried to leave the station as more commuters started to arrive on the platform. "Can we afford a cab? I know your mum gave you some extra money, but still... it's quite a way to go," she said worriedly.

"Hmm... I know it's expensive, but I can't think of any other way to get there. Aha! Look at this! We could get a cab to Vermilion City, and then take a ride on the S.S. Aqua to Pallet Town! Pokemon Trainers travel for free!" he suddenly spotted the poster advertising the sail boat and examined it eagerly.

"Sounds good to me. Vermilion's connected to Saffron via a straight route anyway, so it'll be less expensive for the cab too," Crystal said, and the two of them walked towards the parking bay where several cars waited to pick up paying passengers. After waiting in the queue for a short time, they finally sat down in a battered old black car. The driver looked barely awake and the seats were split and torn, but they were unwilling to go to the back of the queue and wait for another one so they shut the doors and made the best of it.

"Er... To Vermilion City, please," Silver said, and the cab driver grunted once before making the car lurch out of the parking area, hurtling down the road at top speed so the Pikachu-shaped air freshener hanging from the rear-view mirror bobbed madly from side to side. Crystal and Silver gripped the seats tightly, realising there were no seatbelts, and looked at each other, sharing such a knowing glance that they both broke down into laughter. The cab driver seemingly either didn't care for other drivers or pedestrians, or was merely focusing all his attentions on staying awake, as he dodged through traffic lights, screeched to heart-stopping halts and made more than one wrong turn, drastically switching direction to make up for his mistake and forcing either Silver or Crystal to slam into the side of the vehicle. When they finally reached Vermilion City, Silver paid an extortionate amount and couldn't even find time to say thank you as the driver sped off, clutching his money and heading back to base to make some more. Crystal suddenly burst out laughing as they stood on the pavement.

"The look on your face!" she said, and he smiled.

"Well, the man was a maniac. And a pirate; I could've bought my own car for that kind of money," he said.

"This is a fast-paced world we live in. Everyone for themselves," Crystal said wisely, and looked up and down the street. "I think the Pokemon Centre's down there," she said.

"What? We don't need to visit the Pokemon Centre! Unless you want Togetic and Tyrogue to have some intensive therapy after that terrible cab ride, we're going to the docks. Vermilion City and its various attractions will come later," he said, and dragged her in the opposite direction.

"Ah, well. The docks themselves are a place of interest," she said, and fell in step beside him. It didn't take them long to reach the docks, especially as they were pointed in the right direction by a friendly fisherman and his Krabby, and in no time at all they stood at the base of the gangplank that led up to the S.S. Aqua.

"After you," Silver indicated, and Crystal rolled her eyes and strode up the gangplank, Tyrogue and Silver in her wake.

"Two tickets to Pallet Town, please. We're both Trainers," she said bluntly to the guard, and quite unnecessarily due to Tyrogue's presence and Silver's badges.

"Yes, I can see that," he replied. "But as proof of identity, I'll need to see an official Gym badge. Any one will do," Silver suppressed a snigger and sidled up to Crystal.

"Oh dear," he said quietly, in a mock-reverential voice. Then he spoke up to talk to the guard. "Well, I've got all eight Johto badges. But my friend here..." he broke off and looked at Crystal again, hanging his head and stepping backwards as if he sincerely regretted her predicament.

"You may enter, sir," the guard said, and Silver walked past, winking at Crystal as he did so. He waited inside the door as he heard Crystal snarl behind him.

"Gym badges? You don't need to have Gym badges to be a Pokemon Trainer, you know!" she snapped to the guard.

"I'm sorry, madam, but orders are orders. If you do not have a Gym badge, you will have to pay for a ticket," Crystal grumbled angrily and rummaged through her backpack, stuffing the notes into the guard's hand and stomping inside to join Silver.

"And you said the cab driver was a pirate! That was highway robbery. And isn't it obvious I'm a Pokemon Trainer?" she ranted as they walked up onto the main deck.

"Well, it's pretty hard to tell when you don't have any Gym badges," he said quietly, and only just ducked the punch she swung his way. The two of them found a secluded spot where they sat next to the railings, dangling their bare feet over the sea as the ship started on its course. "Come out, everyone! Get your first taste of Kanto life!" Silver said, and released all of his Pokemon. Politoed seemed unsteady on his feet for a moment, then raised a clenched fist with a smile as he saw where he was and remembered how he had been captured by Silver. Wobbuffet was merely Wobbuffet, standing close by in silence, so that when Crystal turned to see him standing centimetres away she jumped in shock. Noctowl did a short lap over the sea, hooting with pleasure as he tested his wings before landing on the railing above Silver's head. Umbreon snuggled close by in between Silver and Crystal, his enigmatic gaze staring across the majestic sea. Silver was forced to grab Gengar as he appeared, as he had looked over to a group of tourists and grinned with the idea of some mischief, stalking towards them before his master pulled him back. Typhlosion stood on his hind legs, his forelegs resting on the topmost rail as he too looked out to sea. He cut a strangely impressive figure even without his neck-flames, and he roared with exhilaration as the boat bucked and shuddered beneath him.

"Hi, guys! We're going to Pallet Town now, to start off a whole new trip! We should get to see Professor Oak's lab; pretty cool, huh?" Crystal tried to galvanise them with the prospect of sightseeing, but was only greeted with some lacklustre responses as well as an unnecessarily loud and exuberant,

"Wooooooooobuffet!"

"Well, Wobbuffet at least seems to like the idea. Will you come with me and Tyrogue on a mission of discovery, Wobbuffet?" Crystal asked, pointing out to sea and making out that they were on some incredible quest. When she was greeted with no response, which was probably an affirmative, Silver spoke up.

"Landmarks are all well and good, but what we're looking forward to are the Gym battles, right?" This was greeted with a much more enthusiastic response from his Pokemon partners, who crowded around him.

"Looks like it's just me, you, Togetic and Wobbuffet, Tyrogue," Crystal said gloomily, and slapped her forehead as Tyrogue went to join in Silver's Pokemon gathering, jumping up happily. "Fine. I'll go alone," Crystal sniffed, and jumped as a certain someone beside her cried,

"Wooooooooobuffet!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 2**

"Wow. This really reminds me of home, for some reason," Silver said as he and Crystal wandered through the streets of Pallet Town. Their boat had arrived here several minutes ago, and they were now on the lookout for Professor Oak's laboratory, as well as any other places of interest. The small size of Pallet Town and the obvious closeness of its residents made Silver think fondly of his home in New Bark Town and its tight-knit community.

"This isn't anything like my home. Violet City's way bigger and more exciting than this," Crystal said, unimpressed by her surroundings.

"Sometimes big and exciting isn't good. Remember Goldenrod City?" Both of them were wracked by a collective shudder as they recalled the mad, frenzied life that teemed within Johto's largest city. The only good things he remembered about it were winning his third Gym badge and receiving Eevee from Bill.

"I suppose. Just think, as well... how many Trainers have started their own Pokemon journeys here? How many of the world's greatest experts have received instruction from Professor Oak?" Crystal said wonderingly. She always had a fondness for such dramatic and poetic things, and this time Silver could appreciate it. He wondered how many children were waiting to receive a Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle from Professor Oak, eager to set off and conquer the world, as he had been when he received Cyndaquil from Professor Elm. "Hey, look!" Crystal suddenly interrupted his thoughts as she pointed down the road. He looked where she was gesturing and saw a large, official building.

"D'you reckon that's Professor Oak's lab?" he asked.

"It's got to be, surely. A small town like this can't have that many big buildings like that," Crystal reassured him, and they changed direction to walk down the street towards it.

"Should I release my Pokemon? Do you think Professor Oak will be happy to look at them for me?" he asked her, and she shrugged.

"He has a lot of demands on his time, but I've heard he's always happy to talk to Trainers," she said, and pulled open the door to the lab, striding inside as confidently as ever. He followed her nervously and the two of them looked around the wondrous interior of the world-renowned laboratory of Professor Oak. There were dozens of machines and computers inside, buzzing and whirring as if they had a life of their own. As in Professor Elm's lab, posters and pictures of Pokemon adorned the walls, but they seemed to have been done by professional artists rather than the Professor himself and each body part was labelled with tiny, neat writing and complex vocabulary that soared straight over their heads. From the ceiling hung moving models of Flying Pokemon, from the common Pidgey to an intricately detailed Ho-Oh miniature. In the corner was a machine in which someone could lay their Pokeballs and have their Pokemon instantly healed by a blast of soothing energy; these were very rare, but there was talk of them being introduced to every Pokemon Centre in the world in the future. There were notebooks and textbooks everywhere, many written by the Professor himself, and Silver noticed with a start that on a desk nearby there was a picture of Togepi's egg, which had evidently been sent by Mr. Pokemon back before it had hatched.

"Can I help you?" a voice came from nowhere, and Crystal and Silver jumped, tearing their eyes away from the picture of the egg they knew so well. They turned to see a stressed-looking man wearing a white lab-coat, lopsided glasses and holding a pile of books in his arms.

"Hi, we're here to see Professor Oak, if he's free. I'm Silver, a friend of Professor Elm's from New Bark Town, and this is my friend Crystal," Silver introduced himself. The aide smiled sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, Silver, but Professor Oak is currently in Goldenrod City recording his Radio Show," Crystal and Silver simultaneously slapped their foreheads with their hands as Tyrogue jumped up and punched the air. Togetic let out an amused squeak at their expense.

"Typical," Silver sighed.

"It could only happen to us," Crystal concurred. "Well, we won't waste any more of your time, sir. Thanks for telling us, anyway," she said to the aide, and they made to leave.

"If you have any Pokemon queries, I'd be happy to answer them," the aide said hopefully, looking slightly put out at their reactions. "In fact, why don't you stay for a while? A new Trainer's due to come here any minute to pick up her first Pokemon," Crystal and Silver stopped in their tracks and looked at each other.

"Sounds pretty cool. We could give her advice," Crystal suggested.

"Yeah, I'd like to see a new Trainer begin her journey. If it's OK with her, obviously," Silver agreed, and they were ushered into the corner by the aide, sitting down on some seats previously occupied by a stack of notes. After sitting impatiently for a few minutes, sipping a glass of water each that the aide had provided for them, they heard a scream from outside. Crystal and Silver jumped to their feet, Silver grabbing one of his Pokeballs. "Trouble?" he asked Crystal.

"I don't know. Best not to leave it to chance," Crystal replied, and the two of them ran outside, ready for battle as they took in the scene. There was a man dressed in a familiar uniform; predominantly black, apart from a scarlet 'R' on the chest. The Rocket was holding a young girl by the throat, stopping her from entering the lab as she struggled and cried out. The Rocket threw her to the ground and took up a fighting stance as Crystal and Silver made the scene.

"Other kids, eh? Well, let's see if your Bulbasaur or Squirtle or whatever can beat me!" he sneered, and hurled his own Pokeball into the air. An insect-like creature almost completely covered with a gigantic mushroom emerged, barring their path.

"He thinks we're new Trainers! Ready to shatter that illusion, Crystal?" Silver said.

"I'll take the Rocket, you take out Parasect," she replied, and the two of them darted into action.

"Typhlosion, go! Use Flamethrower on Parasect!" Typhlosion appeared with a mighty roar, and his neck-flames hissed into life as he reared up and bathed Parasect in a bright wave of fire.

"Tyrogue, Headbutt the Rocket! But not too hard," Crystal added, and Tyrogue lowered his head, dancing past the charred and twitching Parasect to ram into the Rocket, knocking him off his feet. Silver and Crystal stood above him, triumphant.

"Don't you Rockets ever learn?" Silver said, shaking his head as he recalled Typhlosion. The Rocket cursed and withdrew his Parasect, lying panting on the ground as Tyrogue stood on his chest.

"We do, actually. You've just fallen into our trap," he eventually attempted a sneer, his breathing heavy. Crystal and Silver looked at each other worriedly, wondering what he meant, and suddenly they realised the girl they had saved was standing close by.

"Are you OK? Did he hurt you?" Crystal walked over to her and put her arm around her.

"No, I'm OK... he said he wanted me to give me the Pokemon Professor Oak gave me, or else he'd set Parasect on me..." she mumbled in reply.

"Well, you've got no fear of that now. He'll be going to prison as soon as Professor Oak's aide calls the police," Silver said, keeping an eye on the Rocket nonetheless. The girl was shorter than both of them, which was to be expected due to her younger age, and wore predominantly yellow and red clothes. Her hair was black, contrasting all the more with her yellow baseball cap, and her green eyes were unfocused following the incident. Eventually she extended a hand to her rescuers and smiled gratefully.

"Thanks for saving me. I'm Yellow, and I've come here to get my first ever Pokemon. I hope that one day I can be as good as you," she said to Silver, who smiled happily.

"If you try hard enough, anything is possible," he replied, echoing the words of Gym Leader Morty from Ecruteak City, a quote which had stayed with him for all this time. Suddenly, the aide interrupted their conversation, charging out of the lab with his glasses even more askew.

"Help! The three Pokemon have been taken! The Starters for our new Trainer!" he cried, looking quite deranged.

"So that's what the Rocket meant. He was just a distraction... Crystal, do you want to stay here and take care of our Rocket member? I'll go and look for the other thief and take him down," Silver said quickly.

"Sure. Come on, Tyrogue, let's phone the police," Crystal replied, and Tyrogue herded the Rocket into the lab, keeping close watch on him should he try anything. As Silver started off towards the route out of town, he heard a shout behind him.

"Hey! I want to come too!" Yellow yelled, running after him.

"But you don't have any Pokemon," Silver reminded her gently, conscious of the time.

"Actually, that's not entirely true... we have one left, which wasn't meant for a Trainer, but she can borrow it this once," the aide piped up unhelpfully. Silver sighed.

"Fine, go and get it. Noctowl, go! Can you scout ahead and see where our thieves have gotten to?" Noctowl hooted in response and took to the air, gliding towards the edge of town and scanning the ground unblinkingly. It seemed to take forever, but finally the aide was bursting out of the lab again, holding a Pokeball.

"Here, Yellow! I'm sorry Professor Oak couldn't be here, but..." the aide began, but Silver interrupted.

"Can we finish this later, please? I know getting your first Pokemon's a big thing, but if you want to come along and help we'll have to hurry," he said impatiently. Yellow cradled the Pokeball delightedly for a second before hurling it, releasing its occupant. A small, yellow and brown-striped mouse-like creature emerged, with red dots on its cheeks and a lightning-bolt tail.

"Pika!" it cried, and climbed up Yellow's clothes to sit on her shoulder. Silver was hit by a moment of nostalgia as he remembered when Cyndaquil used to do that, but he quickly remembered what they had to do.

"Let's get going," he said, and he and Yellow, along with her borrowed Pikachu, ran down the street towards the road out of town, where any thieves were sure to be fleeing. Suddenly, they heard a loud cooing, and Silver looked up to see Noctowl hovering there. "Lead the way, buddy!" he cried, and Noctowl dipped down to street level to guide the two humans onwards. They quickly found the Rocket in an alleyway, where he was halfway through changing his clothes so he looked like a normal civilian. They heard him mutter something to himself as he saw them approach, and squared up to them; bizarrely, he was wearing a Team Rocket shirt and beret, with the trousers of a wealthy businessman.

"You caught me at a bad time, so let's get this over with quickly. Zubat, attack!" the Rocket said, releasing the chattering bat-like Pokemon, which flapped towards them to buy its master an escape. Silver was about to release Gengar when Yellow stepped forwards, Pikachu in front of her with its cheeks crackling.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" she cried, and Pikachu jumped into the air, viciously ramming Zubat before he could react. "Good! Keep it up!" Yellow encouraged, as Pikachu and Zubat grappled viciously; the Electric Pokemon was trying to drag Zubat to the floor, whilst Zubat's snapping jaws tried to catch her in a Bite attack.

"Noctowl, you may as well make yourself useful and head off the Rocket's escape route. Hit him with a Hypnosis," Silver said quietly, not wanting to steal Yellow's thunder, and Noctowl flew above the battlers to swoop down in front of the fleeing Rocket, soothing him to sleep with a barrage of Psychic energy.

"Pikachu, Thundershock! Let's go!" Pikachu was back on the floor, and it blasted Zubat with a precision bolt of electricity. Zubat fluttered to the floor, beaten. "Ha! And he thought new Trainers would be easy to beat," Yellow said, and Pikachu jumped back onto her shoulder, nuzzling her face.

"You two are a good team. Right, if you can just tell me what road this is, I'll call the police on my Pokegear..." Silver said, and several minutes later the Rocket, still asleep, and his battered Zubat were being driven back to the prison. As the sirens died down and the police car disappeared around a corner, Silver turned to Yellow and Pikachu. "Well done, that was a great battle," he complimented her, and she smiled and squirmed in embarrassment. "We'd better head back..." he started, before slipping over on something round, falling heavily to the floor. "Ow... what was that?" he groaned as Noctowl's and Togetic's concerned faces swam above his.

"Er... I think you broke my Pokeball..." Yellow replied, obviously trying to conceal her laughter as she waved the cracked orb in front of him. He climbed to his feet and got a closer look. There was no repairing it; it was too badly damaged.

"I'm sorry... here's some money for a new one," he said, and reached into his backpack for some money, but she waved him away.

"Nah... as long as Pikachu's happy with it, she can stay out as long as she likes,"

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu squeaked, leaping up into the air happily and crackling with electricity.

"Er... you do realise that Pikachu's not yours? She was only lent to you, after all," Silver said awkwardly as they walked slowly back to the lab.

"Yes... but I hope Professor Oak won't mind if I keep her. I don't really want Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle anymore... Pikachu here will do me just fine," she replied. When they reached the lab, they found Crystal, Tyrogue and the aide standing outside.

"Did you catch the thief? Did you get the Starters back?" the aide asked eagerly, and Silver pressed the three pristine Pokeballs into his hands.

"Great job!" Crystal said enthusiastically, punching him on the shoulder.

"Don't thank me, thank Yellow. She was the real heroine," Silver said, but just grabbed Crystal's wrist in time before she could punch Yellow's shoulder.

"Really? So you were just the useless sidekick," Crystal teased, and Silver did his best to ignore her as he turned to listen in on Yellow's conversation with the aide.

"Please can I keep Pikachu? I promise I'll take care of her, and keep her happy," Yellow pleaded, and the aide scratched his head as he appraised her.

"Well, I suppose... if Silver here said you were a good team, and Pikachu here is happy..." he said, and Pikachu smiled joyfully as she snuggled close to her Trainer. "Oh, very well then... Take Pikachu with you. But I'll be expecting to hear about you on the news, as a great Pokemon Trainer," he warned, and she jumped and punched the air in an uncanny imitation of Tyrogue.

"Yes! Pikachu, it's just me and you now!" she said, hugging Pikachu like a cuddly toy. Fortunately, Pikachu enjoyed it, and didn't feel the need to shock her new Trainer. Crystal and Silver smiled.

"Well, we definitely did a good deed today," Crystal said, watching the joyous new Trainer play with her Pokemon before running off down the street side-by-side to say their goodbyes to the people at home.

"It makes me all nostalgic to see someone setting off on their journey. Well, I suppose we'd better get going. If we're lucky, we can reach Viridian City in time to book a good night's sleep in the Pokemon Centre," he said. The two of them walked down the street, with Tyrogue and Togetic in tow, and both were deliberating the significance of what they had seen. Yellow still had all the hard times and fun times of being a Trainer to look forward to. What would her team comprise of in years to come? There were hundreds of different combinations, a huge array of creatures to befriend and battle. But what they did know was that Pikachu would remain a firm and powerful part of it, as well as one of Yellow's best friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 3**

Viridian City came into sight much sooner than expected, so Silver and Crystal stopped on a hill to have some late lunch, Silver releasing his Pokemon so they could all have something to eat.

"Thanks. Your mum really is a good cook," Crystal said, accepting a sandwich and taking a huge bite out of it.

"This is nothing. Remember that dinner she cooked up when you came to stay, on the day that I... didn't become Champion?" Silver finished awkwardly, but Crystal considerately ignored his hesitation and nodded.

"I'll never forget that. Ah... it warms me inside just to think about it..." she said, staring off into space and reminiscing about the fantastic meal. When no further communication seemed to be coming, Silver switched his attention to his Pokemon, but they were all happily eating the Pokemon food, showing just as much appreciation for his mother's cooking. Even Togetic was nibbling on a chunk as he sat on Silver's shoulder. He gave in and grudgingly crunched through a packet of his favourite Pichu Chips, washed down by some lemonade. Then, seeing his companions still in the throes of feasting, he lay splayed on the blanket, looking up at the blue sky. A Weedle-shaped cloud floated overhead, and he was reminded of his horrible Bug-Catching Contest experience. That caused him to lazily look at the Pokegear to see what landmarks could be found in Viridian City. Surprisingly there were several; the Gym, something called Trainer House, and the infamous Viridian Forest.

"Hey, look Crystal! There's a Gym in Viridian City!" he said, sitting up and pointing to the small map at his wrist.

"Cool. Your first challenge in Kanto, straight ahead!" Crystal replied, but despite this spurring sentence, nobody but Silver moved.

"Well? Aren't we going to head onwards?" he asked impatiently, standing up. Crystal looked up at him slowly, sipping from her drink.

"Well, if it means that much to you..." she murmured, and got to her feet as well, helping Silver pack everything up. He rolled his eyes and recalled his Pokemon as he stuffed any uneaten food back in his backpack, then set off, striding ahead enthusiastically as he envisioned his next battle. What type of Pokemon would the Gym Leader use? Would any of his team be weak or effective against them? Crystal smiled wryly and hurried after Silver, a ruffled Togetic relocating to her shoulder as Silver steamed ahead. She watched the expression on his face fondly. "Come on, Tyrogue. We'd better hurry up; he's obviously really looking forward to this," she murmured to her Pokemon, and Tyrogue redoubled his pace until they walked side-by-side with Silver. Viridian City seemed similar to other small towns they had been through on their journeys; Mahogany Town, for example, mirrored its sleepy atmosphere but obvious air of business. "Should we go to the Pokemon Centre first, for a rest?" Crystal suggested, but Silver waved her away.

"I don't think stopping for a picnic will have tired any of my Pokemon out. Well, I hope not, anyway..." he added, but suddenly an angry-looking man reared up in front of him from nowhere. He appeared so suddenly that Silver only barely stopped himself from crashing into him. "Whoa... sorry sir, I didn't see you there," he said, hoping to pacify the irate-looking man.

"That sorry and a nickel will get me a cup of coffee," the man snapped, then sighed. "Coffee... I need my coffee! I haven't had any all day!" The expression on his face seemed to show that having no coffee was an unforgiveable sin in his life. "You look like Trainers. Passing through, are you?" he was his brisk self again, throwing Silver and Crystal completely off-track. Silver shared a glance with Crystal, wondering exactly what mental condition the man suffered from.

"Er... Actually, I'm going to challenge the Gym Leader to a battle," Silver said, and made to side-step him and be on his way. The man slipped in front of him again so he was forced to stop short, however.

"Ha!" he barked, clapping his hands together. "Don't hold your breath, lad! That Gym Leader's never here. Always travelling, it drives challengers mad," Silver exchanged another glance with Crystal.

"Well... thanks for the information. We'll be off to the Pokemon Centre, then," Silver said, trying not to laugh as Crystal tried to devilishly catch his eye. The man opened his mouth to speak again, but fortunately at that moment a woman appeared and tapped the angry old man on the shoulder. In her other hand she held a steaming cup of coffee, which she handed to the man. The man looked upon it as if it were the Holy Grail, and he completely ignored Silver and Crystal as he sniffed its fumes with a satisfied sigh.

"He's always a bit crazy until he gets his coffee. I'm sorry if he bothered you," the woman said by way of explanation.

"It's OK, he wasn't any trouble," Silver said, then when they were out of hearing range, "Give my regards to the mental institution," Crystal giggled.

"I know coffee's nice, but he did take it to a bit of an extreme. What about our disappearing Gym Leader? D'you think he'll be at the Gym today?"

"I hope so. If not... well, we can wait for a while. We can check out the Gym anyway," Silver said, and the two of them continued towards the Gym. Unfortunately, it was locked. The area around it was deserted. Silver ground his teeth with annoyance as he tested the doors for the umpteenth time. "Can't you karate chop it open or something?" he asked Crystal in despair.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Use my beautiful and incredible martial arts talents to break down a door? Master Chuck would never let me hear the end of it," Crystal replied, crossing her arms and turning up her nose.

"What about you, Tyrogue? You'll help your old buddy, won't you?" he pleaded, but Tyrogue took up a position identical to Crystal's. Silver sighed. He knew Crystal wouldn't comply, and felt some relief after his moment of madness; now he wouldn't have to pay for a new door. "Shall we go back to the Pokemon Centre? We can find some leaflets," he said, trying to tempt Crystal out of her frostiness. Her expression mellowed and she beamed.

"You know just what to say to cheer me up," she said, and the two of them walked arm-in-arm to their first Kanto Pokemon Centre. It seemed almost exactly the same as a Johto Centre, yet slightly more old-fashioned. Even the nurse at the desk looked familiar. As Crystal walked over to a brochure stand to find out some information about what sights there were to see in Viridian City, Silver approached the welcome desk.

"Hi. Can me and my friend have lodgings for tonight, please? We're passing through Viridian City on our journey, you see," he explained.

"How many of you are there?" the nurse asked politely, simultaneously brushing a nearby Meowth's fur with a special brush.

"Just two. As well as our Pokemon, of course, but they can sleep in their Pokeballs," Silver replied.

"So that's one room for you and your friend... just let me see if there's one free..." she began, but Silver cut across her.

"No! No, two rooms please. She snores," he said by way of explanation. He didn't know whether Crystal did snore or not, but he knew she'd keep him awake with her talking all night.

"Er... OK. There are two adjoining rooms free, if you want them," the nurse replied with a quizzical look, holding out the keys.

"Thanks, they'll be great. Do you think you could check up on my Pokemon as well? They haven't battled or been to a Pokemon Centre in a while, so I don't know whether they're in good enough condition," he said, and as she nodded he handed over his Pokeballs and Togetic. Crystal appeared behind him, brandishing several pamphlets eagerly.

"Tyrogue, go with the nurse. Just to check you're in tip-top condition," she said, noticing that Silver had given away his Pokemon too, and Tyrogue followed the nurse into a back room. "Well, it seems there's plenty to do in Viridian City after all. Come on, let's go to your room and sit down," she said, and the two of them quickly located their rooms, sitting down on Silver's bed and spreading the leaflets across it.

"I'll tackle this one," Silver said enthusiastically, snatching up one about the Viridian City Gym.

"I thought you would, somehow. I'll read all about Trainer House, then," Crystal said in an amused voice. The time seemed to pass incredibly quickly, as the two of them read out any interesting snippets they found, joked around and even splashed out and ordered room service for dinner. In no time at all, it seemed, their Pokemon were being given back to them; Tyrogue and Togetic looked the same as ever, but Silver's Pokeballs had been polished so they gleamed brightly.

"Your Pokemon are in good shape, but I'd recommend a more structured training session. Perhaps setting aside an hour or so each day. Togetic, whom I gather that you don't use for battles, is in very good condition indeed. You must be treating it very kindly for it to become so happy and healthy," the nurse said, as Togetic landed on Silver's shoulder. Silver beamed.

"Me and Togetic have always been great friends. Thanks for the check-up, I'll try and figure out some sort of training session like you said," he said, and the nurse smiled before backing out of the room.

"Maybe you could take a leaf out of my book. Me and Tyrogue are always training," Crystal said.

"If that's what constant training does, I'll encourage my Pokemon to be couch potatoes," Silver retorted, as Tyrogue leapt up and punched the air on the sound of his name. She punched his shoulder softly, but knew he was joking.

"It looks like we haven't got much of the day left. I can hardly believe it went so quickly," she said, indicating the gathering darkness outside.

"You're right. I think I'll fit in an hour of training now, just to tire us out before going to sleep. D'you want to join us?" he asked.

"We'd love to, wouldn't we, Tyrogue?" Crystal replied, and Tyrogue punched the air yet again. Several minutes later, the training was in full flow. Tyrogue and Crystal were lifting the weights that she always carried in her backpack, building up their muscles, and Politoed joined them to try and up the power of his Body Slam. Silver had given Noctowl the rather clever task of going out into his beloved night-time and bringing him back any interesting objects he could find. This not only gave the Owl Pokemon some exercise, but it also helped to keep his night-vision in good shape. Typhlosion was more difficult to train, as he couldn't use Fire attacks in a Pokemon Centre, but Silver thought he may as well continue to hone his Strength and so ordered him to lift up the bed with him lying on it. Umbreon ran up and down the corridor, a silver trail blazing behind him as he practised Quick Attack, and Togetic used Silver's Pokegear to time him and thus set a benchmark for future training sessions. Silver ordered Gengar quite specifically so as to stop the Ghost Pokemon getting up to mischief; he was to sneak silently into the rooms of sleeping guests and use an extremely low-powered Dream Eater on any who looked as if they were having nightmares. This would hopefully do a good deed as well as helping Gengar learn to regulate his prodigious power. After half an hour of fruitless orders, Silver gave up on trying to train Wobbuffet, who merely stood there in silence and made no movements whatsoever. Silver knew this was probably because Wobbuffet couldn't strike first rather than him disobeying, so didn't hold it against him. Eventually, Crystal came up with the idea of Wobbuffet just having some good old-fashioned exercise and running, or crawling as the case may be, around the room in rudimentary laps. It seemed to take a while to sink in, but eventually Wobbuffet cried,

"Wooooooooobuffet!" and started his laps, his tiny legs waving as he edged around the walls. Training stopped for a few seconds as everyone present took in this amusing sight, then Silver came back to his senses and the session continued. After an hour, and when Noctowl had returned from yet another trip, Silver cried,

"OK, everyone, that's enough! You did well, all of you. Especially you, Wobbuffet,"

"Wooooooobuffet!" Wobbuffet slapped his forehead and came as close to a smile as Silver had ever seen him.

"Right, guys, we'll be heading out to Viridian Forest tomorrow if the Gym Leader still isn't here. An early start means an early finish, so be prepared to wake up in the... in the..." he looked at his Pokemon's uncomprehending faces and sighed. "Why am I telling you this? You'll be in your Pokeballs. Well, Crystal, you at least have been warned,"

"It was my idea," she pointed out, and laughed at his expression. "OK, OK, early start, early finish. I get it. Night night, Silver! See you in the morning. Night, guys!" she addressed his Pokemon, who all gave their own goodnights to their human friend.

"See you tomorrow, Crystal. Do you want to set your alarm or shall I wake you up?"

"Oh, come on, Silver. I'm always up before you, aren't I, sleepyhead?" she winked as she used his old nickname and snapped the door shut as she left, Tyrogue winking clumsily too in imitation. Silver smiled and shook his head in resignation.

"What am I going to do with her, Typhlosion? Don't answer that," he said quickly, as Typhlosion looked set to make a sarcastic reply in his own one-word language. "Thanks, Noctowl. Wow, you were really good... We'll have to give these into Lost Property tomorrow, right?" he said, and the Noctowl sat beside him cooed in appreciation. The Owl Pokemon had brought back a couple of battered Potions, a Pokeball with nothing inside, what looked like a sodden and dirt-stained backpack, and something that was on closer inspection a worn Bike Voucher for the shop in Cerulean City. "Return, everybody. Get a good night's rest after that training session. Umbreon, Noctowl, you can stay up for a while if you want; I know you like the darkness. When you want to go back to sleep, just tap the front of your Pokeball and it'll return you by itself," he said, and Umbreon and Noctowl leapt out of the window to explore for a while as Silver changed into his pyjamas. Togetic squeaked as he tucked himself in beside his friend and master, and Silver was careful not to crush him as he lay down himself, placing his baseball cap on the bedside table next to his Pokegear, the alarm of which was set. "Good night, Togetic. I'll get up before Crystal, she'll see..." he muttered to himself, and Togetic squeaked again, this time with amusement. Silver roughly translated it as a sarcastic "Of course you will,". "Hey, you're meant to be on my side! Oh yeah, we're both adoptive parents, aren't we..." he continued muttering and grumbling to himself until he finally fell asleep, wondering what Viridian Forest would hold tomorrow and whether he would be facing his first Gym battle on Kanto soil.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 4**

"Looks like we'll have to move on. Unless you want to stay and wait for him, of course," Crystal said. Silver was standing in front of the Viridian City Gym and looking at the locked door with despair, as if he hoped to break it down with the intensity of his gaze. The Gym Leader still hadn't returned from wherever he had been, and Silver was faced with a choice; carry on with his travels and come back later, or pitch camp in Viridian City and wait for however long was necessary. Part of him wanted to stay, but common sense told him differently; he could continue his travels and earn other Gym badges whilst he waited, and besides he wouldn't make Crystal stay in one spot and miss out on all the landmarks Kanto had to offer.

"Let's go. Trainer House should be open by this time, and there's Viridian Forest to look forward to as well," he said bravely, and Crystal clapped him on the shoulder.

"That's the way! Be positive! The Gym's going nowhere, and whilst there's a Gym there'll be a Gym Leader. I promise we'll return later," she said. "Trainer House is just down this road, I think. Your first Kanto battle; who d'you think you'll use?" she tried to perk him up as he continued to look gloomy.

"Depends, really. The type advantage has gotten me really far on my journey so far, and I'll try and stick with it when possible," he replied, knowing she was trying to cheer him up and so making the effort to look a bit happier.

"Well, me and Tyrogue and Togetic will be cheering you on from the sidelines. You don't really need anything else," Crystal said firmly. Silver smiled.

"No, I suppose I don't... Ah, here we are! Ready, guys?" he addressed the Pokeballs at his belt, and of course got no response, but if he knew his Pokemon he also knew that they'd be up for a battle any time he needed them. He walked confidently into the mysterious Trainer House as Togetic squeaked happily on his shoulder, sensing his rising spirits, and it was with eagerness that he stopped to talk to the attendant behind the desk. "Good morning! I'm here to participate in Trainer House, if that's OK," he said.

"Of course it's OK. Now, if you'll just show me some Kanto Gym badges for identification purposes..." the attendant replied expectantly. Togetic gave another amused squeak as Silver hung his head, feeling as if a tiny raincloud was hovering just above him and affecting his luck. He stomped outside in silence, Crystal rolling her eyes and following.

"Viridian Forest it is," she said wildly, trying to raise his morale, but quailed at the look she gave him. "Oh, snap out of it. We've already said we'll come back here later, so you can challenge Trainer House then. Just something else to look forward to," she said briskly as they walked along.

"I guess so. Let's put this horrible city behind us and get to... er... let me just check my Pokegear. Ah, Pewter City. Cool, there's a Pokemon Gym there, as well as a museum!" he said enthusiastically, and Crystal was beside him once again.

"A museum! Wow! I've never been to a museum before... let's go!" she said, and dragged him along as fast as she could, fantasising about what wondrous exhibits would be on display there. Silver himself was contemplating the Gym battle, and wondering who was the Leader and what Pokemon type they used. Well, that was something for the future. At present, all they had in front of them was a spreading forest; it reminded him slightly of Ilex Forest, although it was less dark and there seemed to be more wild Pokemon milling around.

"Watch that you don't get attacked by a Farfetch'd again," Silver teased Crystal.

"You were the one it crashed into. I was merely the one it hit with a leek," she retorted.

"Because that's so much better," Their bickering, as ever, continued until they were interrupted; this time it was by a gang of four similarly-dressed boys, younger than Silver, who were all clutching Pokeballs. They were clad in the usual garb of Bug-Catchers, and each of them wore a straw hat and carried a net.

"How about a four-on-two battle?" the leader asked as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"A four-on-two battle? That doesn't sound fair," Crystal pointed out.

"And the winner gets to keep all the Pokemon of the loser," another one said, ignoring her.

"That doesn't make it any fairer," Silver remarked, and the leader glared at him.

"We're the Bug-Catcher Boys! An intrepid group of brave explorers, training their powerful Bug Pokemon up to incredible levels... Come back here!" he cried, as he noticed Silver and Crystal sneaking off. "You're going to battle if you like it or not! You'll be our first victims!" he said, rallying his friends to his cause.

"We'll be your last victims too, you penny-ante Team Rocket! We'll tell your mummy that you've been misbehaving," Crystal said mockingly.

"That's it! I won't take insults from a girly!" the leader cried, seeing his support base collapse into poorly-concealed laughter. "Let's go, Bug-Catcher Boys! Metapod, I choose you!" There were four shouts of that nature, and when they were done Silver and Crystal were surrounded by a Caterpie, a Weedle, a Spinarak and a Metapod. "When we beat these guys, Metapod, you'll evolve into a Butterfree!" the boy encouraged, abut Metapod made no reply.

"Do you want to handle this?" Crystal turned to Silver.

"Unless you really want to pitch in," Silver replied sardonically, and Crystal waved him on. "Typhlosion, I choose you!" The Fire Pokemon reared up and, assessing the situation quickly, gave one of his loudest and most threatening roars as his neck-flames burst into life. "How about a four-on-one battle? Or is that too unfair for you?" Silver asked the Bug-Catchers Boys, who had shrunk away from their massive foe. The other three looked to their leader, who shivered under Typhlosion's challenging stare.

"Today, we'll let you pass. But only because... we're late!" the boy invented, his voice unintentionally high-pitched.

"For dinner," another one nodded.

"Lunch, idiot, it's not time for dinner yet..." a third said, whacking the second over his head with his net. Silver and Crystal took this opportunity to leave the squabbling foursome behind.

"We should've faced them, really. Shown them what happens to bullies," Crystal said pensively.

"I think Typhlosion gave them a good idea. It's a pretty cunning stunt, though, especially with new Trainers passing through Viridian Forest before having a chance to really train," Typhlosion, who padded alongside them, grunted at the compliment and rubbed against Silver's leg, almost knocking him over.

"With strength like that, I won't be surprised if those Bug-Catcher losers have nightmares," Crystal giggled as Silver swayed on his feet, trying to regain his balance. Typhlosion hissed with pleasure at the praise and shot a small burst of flame from his mouth as if in celebration.

"Typhlosion, return. You were good, but the last thing we need right now is a forest fire," Silver said, noticing some flaming embers drift to the dry leaves on the floor and stamping them out before they could catch alight. For the next hour or so, the two of them simply walked. The trees were arranged in a maze-like pattern, as if they wanted travellers to be stuck there forever, but the many signs made it easy to navigate. Due to the winding nature of the forest, it felt like an incredibly long trek, and 'I Spy' provided little relief, even when Crystal won with a well-spotted Pidgeotto. The boredom was broken slightly, however, when they saw a wild Pikachu scamper across the path, and they got to thinking how Yellow was getting on. "D'you think we should go back and fry those pathetic Bug-Catcher Boys, in case Yellow runs into them?" he said, his conscience getting the better of him as usual.

"Are you kidding? We've already been in this stupid forest for several years; the last thing we want to do when the end is in sight is turn back! Besides, even if they weren't scared enough of Typhlosion, Yellow and Pikachu can zap them easily. I mean, we are talking about Caterpie and the like," she said.

"I guess so... Hey, look! There's a gate up ahead!" Silver spotted, and they sped up almost to the point of running, flinging themselves through the gate and, after half a minute's walk, escaping the confines of the tedious Viridian Forest.

"It feels so good to see something other than trees," Crystal said, looking up at the admittedly cloudy sky.

"Pewter City shouldn't be too far up ahead; we can get lunch at the Pokemon Centre, if you want," Silver suggested.

"Sounds great. I need some stuff from the Poke-Mart as well... Then we can go and see the museum! After your Gym battle, of course," she said hastily.

"Glad to see you've sorted out your priorities at last," Silver said with a smile, and they continued up the trail until they entered Pewter City, where Silver would hopefully win his first Kanto Gym badge. The word that sprang to mind for Silver when he looked around was 'dull'. The grey of the sky went perfectly with the rather drab surroundings, as most of the buildings seemed to at least have a slate roof, if not being made of rock entirely. Even the people generally wore plain dark clothes, and Silver and Crystal hardly saw any as they walked up the street. It was as if all the colour had been washed out of the city somehow.

"Here's the Pokemon Centre," Crystal said eventually, tearing Silver's gaze away from a large, predictably grey, building up ahead which could only be the Gym.

"Shall I check in whilst you go to the Poke-Mart, then?" he asked, and she nodded, handing him her heavy backpack after finding some cash from inside.

"Tyrogue, you can go with Silver. Silver, I think we should fit in our training session now, seeing as your battle's ahead. You can get the weights from my bag if you want,"

"Uh... OK. Come on, Tyrogue. You too, Togetic. Let's find a nice spot to train and work up an appetite for lunch," Silver said, and Tyrogue punched the air with a happy,

"Tyrogue!" Eventually they located a corner in the garden – which included a rockery, of course – and Silver released all of his Pokemon.

"Guys, I think we'll all do laps today. Just to get you warmed up for our Gym battle; we don't want you too tired, after all," he said. His Pokemon gave their agreement and began another, less strenuous training session. Umbreon and Gengar took the lead, vying for position of the fastest, with Typhlosion not too far behind. Above them flew Noctowl, who seemed sleepy at first but quickly got into the swing of things. Tyrogue and Politoed were pushing themselves, as usual, and at times even overtook Typhlosion. Wobbuffet, of course, trailed behind, although Silver had to commend his spirit as he continued crawling along after being lapped several times. Silver was about to sneak away to get some lunch whilst his Pokemon trained, but a single glance from Togetic made the guilt well up and he sat back down, watching his Pokemon run. Even looking at them exercising was making his stomach growl louder. Thankfully, before Silver could become too preoccupied with his hunger, Crystal returned, bringing with her food and supplies for the journey.

"Come on, Tyrogue! You can beat them all!" she cheered on her Pokemon, who, with her presence, worked even harder. Silver knew Tyrogue and Crystal always went all-out for the win, and neither generally knew or even observed their own limits. However, it was beyond pointless to criticise her, as she was very defensive about her training and he had no wish to upset her. "I have leaflets! Only two, yes, but they'll be enough. There's loads about the Gym and the Gym Leader in this one," she sat beside him on the grass and handed him a leaflet showing a spiky-haired man with tanned skin on the front.

"Thanks. And your one's about the museum, I guess?"

"Yep. I can't wait to see it,"

"Why don't you go whilst I have my Gym battle? I won't mind missing it," Crystal immediately shook her head.

"No, I wouldn't be that selfish. Besides, I need to cheer you on in your match against Brock," Silver felt comforted by her words, and looked closer at the leaflet.

"Brock, eh? And he trains Rock types? Looks like Politoed's the obvious choice. Wow, Crystal, this is really good... it even says that he's good friends with the Cerulean Gym Leader, Misty, who trains Water types!" he said excitedly, and Crystal beamed.

"Well, I do try. Water types will be tough, though, as you don't have any Pokemon that are particularly good against them," she said as an afterthought.

"Hopefully, now that I know what she trains, I'll be able to prepare a tactic," Silver replied, fired up by his discovery. Suddenly, the Pokegear chimed, signalling that an hour had passed, and Silver was on his feet instantly. "All right! Lunch time, guys!" he cried, and without further ado he ran inside, his Pokemon following him into the cafeteria eagerly.

"Let's go, Tyrogue. I wouldn't want to miss out on any Pewter City cuisine that may be on offer," Crystal said quickly, and her and Tyrogue sped after the others.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 5**

After a quick but undeniably satisfying lunch, Silver was raring to go to the Pewter City Gym and battle Brock. His enthusiasm was palpable and infectious, and even though Crystal muttered,

"You must be on fast-forward today or something," she went along with him, following him down the street as he strode towards the Gym.

"Here we are! But no sign of Scott... Oh yeah, he said he'd meet us outside the Cerulean Gym, I forgot," he said, stopping outside. He was about to throw open the doors when he remembered what happened last time, and he gingerly checked them. To his intense relief, the doors were unlocked; Brock was accepting challengers today. "Togetic, you can wait on the sidelines with Crystal and Tyrogue. I don't want you getting hurt, after all," he advised the small Pokemon, who happily fluttered over and landed on Crystal's shoulder. The four of them walked slowly into the Gym and looked around. It was, as to be expected, grey, and the battle-field seemed to be made of stone rather than dirt and earth like it usually was. Despite the dark surroundings, large spotlights provided enough illumination.

"Hey there. Are you here to challenge me to a battle?" the man who was waiting on the battle-field raised an arm in welcome and walked over to greet the challenger. He looked exactly like his picture on the front of the leaflet; tall, with spiky dark brown hair and olive-coloured skin. His gaze seemed very narrow and intense, but friendly too.

"Hi, Brock. I'm Silver, and I was wondering whether I could battle you to earn a Boulderbadge?" Silver replied, remembering the name of the badge from the leaflet.

"Sure, Silver. Now, is this your first Gym battle?" Brock asked.

"Er... sort of. My first Gym battle here, anyway," Silver said, and gestured at the Gym badges on his jacket.

"Oh, so you're a Johto Trainer! Wow, all eight badges... you must be pretty good. I'd better use my full team, then, and not hold back!" Brock said with a smile, and firmly shook Silver's hand before taking his place at the other end of the field. "Five Pokemon each. Go, Graveler!" he cried, and released a bulky, craggy, boulder-like creature with four arms onto the battle-field. It landed with a loud thump on the stone floor and clenched its four rocky fists.

"Politoed, I choose you!" Silver retorted, and Politoed stood opposite Graveler, ready and willing to battle for his master.

"Politoed, eh? Good choice. But we can beat him, can't we, Graveler?" Graveler rumbled in reply and stood firm.

"Let's start off with a Waterfall attack, Politoed! See what he's made of! Apart from rock, I mean..." he trailed off, but Politoed had already propelled himself into the air with a jet of water, flying in an arc and hurtling towards Graveler, surrounded by a globe of powerful water.

"Graveler, Defence Curl!" Brock warned, and Graveler curled up into a ball, his face to the ground to protect it from harm.

"Careful, Politoed. Don't hit him full-on, or you'll get hurt too. Try and just graze him," Silver countered, and Politoed twisted in mid-flight slightly as he fell. The water globe surrounding him splashed up against Graveler and Politoed danced away before his foe could strike back, looking to see whether his blow had had any effect. It wasn't as powerful as a full-blown Waterfall, and Graveler had been protecting himself at the time, but he still took some damage and Silver could hear him growling angrily from his curled-up position.

"Graveler, Rollout! Quickly!" Brock ordered, and Graveler started spinning quickly, hurtling towards Politoed like a sphere of rock. Silver winced. Rollout brought back bad memories from the Goldenrod City Gym, where three of his Pokemon were flattened by a wayward Miltank.

"Politoed, dodge it! If we're hit once, it just keeps building in power!" he said urgently, and luckily Politoed managed to slip to the left, Graveler shooting past like a comet. As Graveler changed direction and curved back round to attack again, Politoed looked to Silver for guidance. "Good dodge, but I don't think it'll work forever. We need to strike back! Try and see if a Body Slam will knock some of the fight out of him," Politoed jumped up into the air on his powerful legs, spreading his limbs wide as he and Graveler hurtled towards each other. With a huge crash, the two battlers collided, although who had the upper hand was a mystery as both were thrown away by the impact. Politoed struggled to his feet, and it looked like he had been hurt by the Rollout, whereas Graveler seemed to be Paralysed rather than injured.

"Graveler, can you use Rock Slide?" Brock asked, and Graveler nodded painfully, his limbs close to seizing up.

"Politoed, get ready for another Waterfall. Rock Slide sounds like a ground-based attack, after all," Silver murmured, and Politoed stood ready. Graveler raised up his four bulky arms before slamming them onto the ground forcefully, creating such an impact that chunks of rock were torn loose from the stadium floor, hurtling towards Politoed in a wave of debris. "Now, Politoed!" Silver cried, and Politoed launched himself up into the air again, dodging the Rock Slide by a hairsbreadth before crashing back down onto his foe, this time in a direct hit. Graveler stumbled backwards as Politoed watched triumphantly, although the Rock Pokemon wasn't finished just yet.

"Graveler, try an Earthquake, then! See if Politoed can dodge that as well," Brock said, but Silver caught him winking at his Pokemon slyly. This had to be some sort of trick; Brock would be expecting him to use Waterfall again to escape, so he must have a counter attack ready.

"Politoed, Surf!" he cried, hoping to catch Brock unawares, but the Gym Leader showed no sign of surprise. Graveler got ready to jump into the air and unleash a devastating shockwave as Politoed prepared his own sort of wave, but suddenly something snapped. Graveler hissed in pain as the Paralysis kicked in, freezing him in place.

"Graveler, no! You can do it!" Brock encouraged.

"Politoed, quickly! Before he can recover!" Silver said, and Politoed triumphantly swirled his water into a towering wave, balancing on top as he had done many times before. There was nothing Graveler could do to stop it as it crashed into him with terrifying force; as the wave dispersed, Politoed landed gracefully, clenching his fist with triumph as he saw Graveler lying motionless on the floor.

"Nice Surf attack. But it won't work against my next Pokemon! Omastar, let's go!" A nautilus-like Pokemon took the field, its blue feelers waving from beneath its spiky shell.

"Wow, an Omastar! I thought they were extinct!" Silver said in wonderment.

"Well, it's amazing what you can discover when you like searching Mount Moon for fossils. This was resurrected by a special machine in the Pewter City Museum of Science," Brock replied.

"Cool. But let's get back to business. Politoed, Hypnosis!" Silver said, and swirling Psychic energy flooded from Politoed's stomach.

"Omastar, Protect!" Brock shouted just in time; Omastar withdrew into its impervious shell and the Psychic power washed harmlessly over it. The Gym Leader stood in silence, waiting for an equally silent and expectant Silver to make the first move.

"Fine, then. Politoed, Waterfall! Knock him out of his shell!" Silver cried, and Politoed launched himself into the air, surrounding himself with a sphere of rippling water.

"Omastar, Spike Cannon!" Brock said, and a volley of rock-hard spikes burst from the back of Omastar's shell, inside which the creature was still hiding. The spikes hammered through Politoed's watery shield and sent him flying backwards, stunned, and he landed hard on the stone floor.

"Politoed, can you get up?" Silver asked, and Politoed leapt to his feet; too fast for his own good, as he was wracked with pain from his landing. "Don't exert yourself too much, buddy. I don't want you to get hurt," Silver said, and Politoed raised his fist grimly in response, his gaze fixed on Omastar. The ancient Pokemon had emerged from its shell, and was watching its opponent with glazed eyes as its feelers waved around.

"Omastar, time to take the offensive! Bite, quickly!" Omastar crawled forwards with unexpected speed, its four teeth clacking as they opened and shut greedily.

"Politoed, look at those huge eyes! Ripe for Hypnosis, I think," Silver said in response, and Politoed bathed his foe in Psychic energy again. This time, however, Omastar was overcome; it slowed in its charge, then stopped completely, keeling over onto its side with a loud crash. "Great job! Now, finish up with a Surf attack!" Politoed took longer in creating the wave this time, as he was clearly tired, but Omastar still woke up too late to dodge it; its eyes opened a split-second before the wave slammed down on top of it, washing it aside with ease. As the water pooled across the floor, Omastar righted itself; its Water characteristics had allowed it to survive the Surf attack, but only just.

"Politoed's almost finished, Omastar! Try another Spike Cannon!" Brock cried, and Omastar launched another volley of spikes at Politoed.

"Politoed, to the left! Now roll under... that's right! Body Slam!" Silver cried. Politoed obeyed his commands perfectly, jumping aside from one set of spikes, and rolling under the next blast. He continued to pick up speed until slamming into Omastar head-on in a powerful Body Slam.

"Omastar, quickly! Bite before he can get away!" Brock cried, and Omastar's sharp teeth fixed on Politoed's leg as the tired frog Pokemon tried to retreat. Politoed groaned in pain as he tried to pull free, but Omastar wasn't going to let go of his own accord; in fact, he was steadily increasing the pressure, trying to force Politoed to submit.

"Politoed, launch both of you up into the air with one last Waterfall!" Silver shouted desperately. For a moment it looked as if Politoed had given up, but then he showed his spirit once more, drawing on his last reserves of power to blast a jet of water at the ground. Omastar came along for the ride, still fixed on Politoed's leg, but this was what Silver had planned for. Apparently, Brock had noticed his tactic, as he ordered,

"Omastar, drop to the ground, quickly!" Omastar's teeth loosened their grip and the creature landed thunderously on the stone floor, unhurt. However, Politoed was hurtling towards him, surrounded by his globe of water. Before Brock could order Omastar to use Protect, the two collided, and Omastar was hurled away. His feelers waved pathetically for a few seconds before he gave in and they fell limp. Politoed was shaking with tiredness, but still stood in front of Silver looking determined.

"Politoed, that was good, but you should come back for a rest. You've taken out two, after all, and I have another four Pokemon left," Silver said sympathetically, but Politoed shook his head.

"That's right, Politoed! Show 'em your guts and spirit!" Crystal called from the sidelines. Silver cursed to himself; she was actually doing more harm than good with her cheering, as now Politoed was more determined than ever to stay put.

"OK, but after this one, you have a rest. Deal?" he said firmly, and Politoed nodded.

"I'm afraid there won't be an 'after this one', Silver. Kabutops, you're up!" A streamlined crab-like creature appeared, with brutal scythes for arms.

"Another fossil Pokemon. Just like Omastar... Ready, Politoed?" Politoed raised his clenched fist, although it was weaker than ever.

"Kabutops, Politoed's on his last legs! Weaken him with a Slash attack, before we go for the killer blow!" Brock called to his Pokemon, and Kabutops raced forwards with incredible speed, his scythes glinting. All Silver could think about for the moment was escape.

"Politoed, Waterfall!" he cried, but Politoed was clipped by one of Kabutops' scythes on the way up, sending him reeling and ruining his attack. Politoed struggled back to his feet, but then fell forward onto his knees, panting.

"Make this short and sweet with Giga Drain!" Brock ordered, and Kabutops darted forwards, bolts of green energy sparking from his scythes and wrapping around Politoed, sucking up all of his energy. It didn't take long for Kabutops to drain the last of Politoed's dwindling health, and the frog Pokemon fainted, his rival looking stronger than ever. 'Who can I use now?' Silver thought to himself. 'None of my other Pokemon are strong against Rock types. Well, I have four more Pokemon to choose from, at least,'.

"Better start off with Gengar!" he cried out loud, and released the Ghost Pokemon, who sneered at Kabutops with his wide Cheshire Cat grin. "Don't underestimate him, Gengar. He's fast as well as strong," Silver warned, and although Gengar didn't shift from his almost relaxed pose there was a slight change in his bearing to show that he was ready.

"Kabutops, try a Slash again!" Brock said, and Kabutops charged forwards again, his scythes raised.

"Slash is a Normal attack! Wait for him to pass through, then try a Night Shade," Silver advised, and Gengar stood ready. Kabutops lifted his arms in preparation for a cutting charge, but suddenly Brock said,

"Kabutops, Giga Drain instead!" Instead of charging Gengar with his scythes, Kabutops used them to focus the familiar green energy which struck Gengar a vicious blow, trying to siphon off his health.

"You knew that Slash wasn't going to work! It was all just a ruse! Well, we'll show him, Gengar! Fight off those beams with Night Shade!" The two differently-coloured beams crackled as they fought back and forth, Gengar freeing himself from Giga Drain's embrace but unable to strike at Kabutops.

"Kabutops, dodge away, and prepare for a Surf!" Brock ordered, and Kabutops slipped away from the battle, retreating and immediately starting to muster his own wave of thrashing water.

"Gengar, Shadow Ball! You're easily skilful enough to knock him off the top of there," Silver said, and Gengar's grin grew wider with the compliment as his hand glowed with dark energy. Suddenly Kabutops was rearing high above Gengar, skilfully controlling his deadly Surf for the maximum possible impact. As it drew closer, Gengar jumped up and hurled his Shadow Ball, which slammed into Kabutops and pitched him off his perch, so he landed hard on the ground. The wave disintegrated without his control and Gengar was left supremely unhurt after the exchange. As Kabutops struggled to get up, Silver knew the time was right. "Gengar, get in close and use a Hypnosis, and then finish up with a Dream Eater!" Gengar darted swiftly in, even swifter than Kabutops, and his eyes rippled and glowed as he assailed the fossil Pokemon with powerful soothing waves.

"Kabutops, he's in place for a Giga Drain! See how long he can keep up Hypnosis when you use his own energy to fight it!" Brock encouraged, and green bolts struck Gengar again. The two Pokemon stood barely a foot from each other, each of them trying to ramp up the power of their attacks so they could drain their opponent's energy. Kabutops jumped to his feet and it looked like he was going to win the battle, but immediately after he fell backwards, asleep. Gengar was hurt, but it was with uncommon relish that he ripped energy from Kabutops; energy that had perversely belonged to him anyway just seconds ago. Kabutops twitched a couple of times, and once he even raised a scythe, but he was in no position to carry on the fight and eventually Brock recalled him. "If he's resorting to Ghost Pokemon, it must mean he doesn't have any others super-effective against Rock or Ground types. Well done for eliminating Politoed, Kabutops; you may have just won me the match,"

"I think that might be pushing it a bit. I have four Pokemon left, whilst you have two," Silver reminded him.

"But these two are really powerful. Rhyhorn, show them what I mean!" An almost dinosaur-like Pokemon emerged, covered in thick armour plates. It kicked up dust and bellowed as it saw Gengar square up to it.

"I've never faced one of these before. Reckon you can handle it, Gengar?" Gengar responded with a cackle which Silver presumed to mean 'Easily'. "Great! Start us off with a Shadow Ball!" Gengar summoned up another orb of darkness and got ready to hurl it at the beast in front of him.

"Rhyhorn, Scary Face! That'll show him who's boss," Rhyhorn reared up in front of Gengar and fixed him with a terrible leer, complemented by a ferocious bellow, that sought to paralyse Gengar with fear. Gengar, however, merely cackled and responded with an even scarier face, before slamming his Shadow Ball directly onto Rhyhorn's head. Rhyhorn stumbled backwards, shaken but not beaten, shaking his dazed head and grunting.

"Good one, Gengar! Nobody's scarier than you!" Crystal cried, and Gengar cackled again in glee.

"Rhyhorn, get ready for a Horn Drill. Just trust your armour to protect you," Brock said, and Silver started. Horn Drill? That was a one-hit KO kind of move. But it was also Normal type, so it wouldn't affect Gengar. Or would it? He couldn't afford to chance it. This was where the battle got really do-or-die.

"Gengar, he'll take a while preparing that. Use Night Shade to keep him off-balance and ruin his aim, and keep dodging around so he can't get a fix on you," Silver ordered, and Gengar darted first this way, then that, zapping Rhyhorn now and again with dark bolts from his eyes, injuring and unsettling him until he bellowed in frustration and stamped his foot.

"Hmm... something tells me you've faced Horn Drill before. Rhyhorn, try an Earthquake attack! Gengar's half Poison, so he should be weak against it," Brock said, and Rhyhorn gave up on his Horn Drill, preparing to jump up and land with deadly impact.

"Gengar, he's right, you're weak against it. Knock him out of the air with Shadow Ball!" Silver ordered worriedly, and a streaking black orb darted towards Rhyhorn, catching him on the side. It was a powerful blow, but Rhyhorn's armour protected it from being too shaken up, and he landed with a crunch. Jagged cracks split from where he landed, as well as rolling shockwaves that slammed into Gengar with incredible force. Just when the Ghost Pokemon had recovered from one, another one hit him, and when the clamour finally died down he was on his back, unconscious. "Gengar, no! I see what you mean about your last two Pokemon now," he said to Brock, recalling Gengar sadly.

"That's right. They can take a lot of damage, and when they finally land an attack it's really powerful," Brock said. Rhyhorn grunted to back up his claims.

"Wobbuffet, show them what power really means!" Silver said, releasing the ever-hesitant Wobbuffet onto the field. The creature took one look at his foe and braced himself for a monumental impact.

"Nice Wobbuffet, but I've got just the right attack to use. Horn Drill, Rhyhorn!" Brock said, believing he had won. However, this was what Silver had expected to happen, recalling his last experience with all too much clarity. Fortunately, Wobbuffet had more than just Counter and Mirror Coat in his repertoire.

"Wobbuffet, wait for Rhyhorn to start charging, then use Destiny Bond!" Silver said, and Wobbuffet groaned in response as Rhyhorn aligned himself. Eventually, when the creature deemed the time was right, it started charging forwards, tossing its head as its horn span wildly. Silver was about to cry out again as Wobbufet made no move, but suddenly the lights went out in the Gym. Before anyone could exclaim, they flickered back on again.

"That was weird," Brock commented, but Silver thought it meant what he hoped it did; that Wobbuffet had used Destiny Bond successfully, the amassed Psychic power having disturbed the flow of electricity momentarily. All of a sudden, Rhyhorn impacted with incredible force, and Wobbuffet was hurled backwards like a dog's discarded chew-toy. He landed with a thump at Silver's feet, his expression vacant as he fainted. Brock looked set to compliment Rhyhorn, but as the creature started to return to its master, it fell on its side all-too-suddenly. Its eyes were rolling and it was completely defeated; Wobbuffet's Destiny Bond had been a success.

"Sorry Wobbuffet. I knew that depended on you fainting, so it was a bit of a low tactic. I hope you forgive me. But now it's your turn, Noctowl!" Noctowl appeared on the battle-field and hooted loudly, ready for anything.

"My last Pokemon, but also my best. Come on out, old friend!" Brock cried as he returned Rhyhorn, who was replaced with a huge and obviously well-cared-for Onix. The Rock Snake Pokemon rumbled deeply as it prepared for battle.

"I know you're at a bit of a disadvantage here, Noctowl, but I want to at least train you up against Rock types. I realise now that we were depending a bit too much on Politoed," Silver said, and Noctowl trilled again, spreading his wings to show Silver that he was OK with it.

"Start off with a Rock-Slide, Onix! Noctowl's weak against Rock type attacks!" Brock started off the battle, and Onix's tail slammed into the ravaged battle-field, creating another wave of rubble that roared towards the unflinching Noctowl.

"Noctowl, fly up and avoid it!" Silver ordered, and Noctowl sped up into the air, allowing the Rock Slide to pass underneath harmlessly.

"I had a feeling you were going to do that. Onix, Bind! Bring Noctowl back to earth!" Brock remarked, and Onix reared upwards to try and crush Noctowl in his rocky coils.

"We'll need to use our speed and size to our advantage here, Noctowl. Fly down through the Bind before it can close in on you!" Silver reacted quickly, and Noctowl dropped like a stone towards the unsuspecting Onix, darting between its coils a second before they crushed together. Brock was momentarily stymied by Noctowl's brave dive, so Silver pressed his advantage. "Noctowl, Hypnosis, whilst Onix is looking right at you!" Noctowl stared into the stunned Onix's eyes, enveloping him with invisible waves of such power that the Rock Pokemon fell with an earth-shuddering impact after just a couple of seconds. "Good work! Now, Confusion!" Noctowl's crest and eyes glowed blue as he gripped Onix in Psychic power, trying to lift him up; however, the creature was too heavy, and eventually Noctowl was forced to give up.

"Ha! You got more than you bargained for there!" Brock said, but Silver was not put off.

"Noctowl, just focus it on Onix's head!" Noctowl grasped his meaning straight away, and used his renewed Confusion attack to lift up Onix's head, pummel it with concentrated Psychic energy, and slam it back to the floor. Whilst this did some damage, it also had the effect of waking Onix up, and he reared up again like a cobra; however, he was swaying quite violently, and his eyes were unfocused. "Yes! You confused him, Noctowl!" Silver cried, and he heard Tyrogue cry,

"Tyrogue!" from the sidelines and punch the air.

"It's not over yet! Onix, snap out of it! Try and use Sandstorm to force Noctowl to the floor!" Brock encouraged his Pokemon. Onix lifted up his tail to try and swirl up a storm of dust and debris, but he only managed to swing it that bit too violently, whacking himself around the face. Although this hurt him, it also snapped him out of his confusion, and he was ready to fight once again. He wasted no time in whipping up the storm Brock had asked for, and Noctowl was forced to struggle against wind, sand and chunks of rock as it took over the whole battle-field. Silver was forced just to watch as Noctowl used all of his skill to try and evade the larger lumps of rock and keep a steady course; he didn't want to break his concentration, after all. "Onix, grab him in a Bind, whilst he's struggling!" Brock shouted, and Onix lunged through his own storm, wrapping Noctowl up in his powerful body.

"Noctowl, try using Peck!" Silver cried, and Noctowl hammered the closest coil with his beak; Onix merely ignored it, however.

"Keep it up, Onix! Soon Noctowl will faint!" Brock said confidently as Onix squeezed harder.

"Noctowl, try and break free with Confusion! Blast Onix's coils away!" Silver said desperately. If Noctowl went down, he would have to pit either Typhlosion or Umbreon against Onix, and risk losing the battle completely. Noctowl's eyes and crest glowed again, faltered, their glowed brighter than ever as Noctowl screeched as Silver had never heard him screech. Onix was unravelled and hurled away with pathetic ease as Noctowl used all of the Psychic power at his disposal to launch a mind-shattering mental attack. The air shimmered as the Psychic energy carved through the sandstorm, enveloping Onix's head and causing the creature to roar in anger and pain. Noctowl's crest and eyes were glowing so brightly they appeared white, and for a second he looked like some ethereal Legendary Pokemon as he slammed the defeated Onix down onto the ground with one last pulse of power. The whole Gym shuddered with the impact, and Silver was almost thrown off his feet. Brock sighed as the sandstorm fell to pieces, revealing a proud Noctowl standing on top of the unconscious Onix as if it had been no trouble at all to win.

"Onix, return. You almost beat Noctowl; it was just that unexpected last attack that floored us. Well, Silver, here you go," Brock recalled Onix and walked over to Silver, shaking his hand and pressing the Boulderbadge into it.

"Thanks, Brock. My first Kanto Gym badge!" he cried to nobody in particular, and was answered by a triumphant hoot from Noctowl, an air-punch from Tyrogue and a happy squeak from Togetic.

"Well done, Silver! You were fantastic! You too, Noctowl!" Crystal cried, hugging Silver as Noctowl gratefully perched on her head.

"Thanks! But I think we'll need another rest in the Pokemon Centre before we go to the museum," he said, tapping his Pokeballs.

"Oh, I'll just go without you, then," Crystal deadpanned, then laughed at Silver's expression. "Of course I won't, you dummy!" Silver muttered something unintelligible in response and turned to Brock.

"So I read somewhere that you're pretty good friends with Misty, the Cerulean City Gym Leader. Any tips on how to beat her?" he asked eagerly. Brock smiled wistfully to himself, as if remembering some past exploit.

"You don't happen to have any Bug Pokemon, do you...?"


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 6**

"So you're at Mount Moon, are you, Silver? It's interesting, yes, but only for the rare Pokemon. And I was under the impression you were pleased with your team as it is, especially after winning a Boulderbadge," the voice of Norman, Silver's father, emanated from the Pokegear as Silver phoned him up, having promised to keep him briefed on their journey.

"Oh, Mount Moon is a major landmark. I wouldn't miss it for the world," Silver said loudly, and Crystal beamed. When she was out of hearing range, Silver whispered, "And she'd kill me if I refused to go,"

"Understood. Best not to get in a girl's way when she's got her mind set on something," Norman warned.

"Especially not one who can karate chop. Well, I'll speak to you later, hopefully after I've won my second Gym badge!" Silver said eagerly.

"Yes, good luck, by the way. And thanks for phoning; I appreciate it. Your mother does too," Norman said, and put the phone down. It was good to know that his parents were back on speaking terms, and it was with renewed spirit that he caught up to Crystal. The entrance to Mount Moon, or specifically the tunnels that went through the mountain, was close by, and Crystal was focused on it intently. According to 'Mount Moon: A Discerning Tourist's Guide', which Crystal had bought at Pewter City's Museum of Science, Mount Moon was a hotspot for fossils, Moon Stones and the rare Pokemon Clefairy. However, it also warned that tourists are often mobbed by hordes of Zubat every step of the way, so Silver had released all of his team just in case. The Museum of Science itself had been relatively interesting for Silver, as it included rare fossils of extinct Pokemon, a space shuttle designed for Pokemon use and a crashed meteor. Crystal had predictably loved every exhibit, and they had left the museum under a mound of souvenirs. More accurately, Silver was the one who carried them all, from a Museum of Science baseball cap ("Because that's _so_ cool and stylish," Silver said sarcastically), to a book about fossils, to a badge that was now unfortunately pinned to Silver's jacket, under threat of death. The badge read, 'I Rocked Out at the Pewter Museum of Science!' and had a picture of a Geodude on it giving a thumbs-up. It couldn't compete with his Boulderbadge, but as long as it kept Crystal happy he allowed it to stay in its position.

"So, Mount Moon, eh? Should be fun! Maybe I'll catch myself a rare Pokemon!" Crystal said enthusiastically as they entered, punching the air in a few testing jabs.

"You're in a good mood. Besides, I thought that you wanted to be a Fighting Pokemon Master," Silver pointed out.

"Well, I can have a cheerleader like Togetic, can't I?" she replied, and was oblivious to further comments. Seeing the conversation peter out, Silver took the time to look around at his surroundings, and was surprised just how beautiful they were. The caverns were large and spacious, with the ceiling wreathed in shadows it was so tall, and the ground was encrusted with either stalagmites or stalactites; Silver never could tell the difference. Pools of still water also spread across the floor, occasionally rupturing the silence with a steady dripping noise as droplets fell from far above. Many of the stones on the ground were silvery in hue, created a shimmering carpet that they walked across. They saw nothing for a while, despite Crystal peeking behind every obstacle in search of a rare Pokemon or Moon Stone as a souvenir, until Crystal spotted something embedded several feet above them in the cave wall. "Silver, look! Isn't that a Moon Stone? It's the most beautiful stone I've ever seen! Get it for me, please..." she said pleadingly. Silver gazed up at the Moon Stone. True, it was big, and certainly pretty, but not worth the broken neck it would cost to retrieve it.

"Why can't you get it yourself? You know as well as I do that you're a lot fitter and stronger than I am," Silver said, realising it was worth the dent to his pride.

"Ever heard of chivalry? It's when a boy does something for a girl to keep the girl safe, whole and happy, no matter what the cost," Crystal responded, amused by him admitting his lack of strength.

"I thought that sort of thing died out with knights in shining armour. Hey, I've got an idea! Noctowl, fly up and grab the Moon Stone for me, would you?" Silver clicked his fingers and implored the Owl Pokemon. He dared not voice it out loud, but tried to communicate through his gaze: 'Please, Noctowl, or else there'll be a bloodbath. She'll come after you too, make no mistake,'. Luckily Noctowl was wise enough to catch onto this, and flew upwards, trying to wrench the Moon Stone from the wall with his talons before flying back down in defeat. "Don't worry, buddy. You tried your best. Ah well, it looks like we'll have to move on," Silver said, and made to walk away before Crystal dragged him back.

"You send up your Pokemon to do it, then run away when he fails? That's so brave of you," she said sarcastically. Silver rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'll climb up and get it. On my gravestone I want 'Here lies Silver – Pokemon Master. Killed by the demands of a friend'," he said, trying to make her feel guilty. She smiled at him and moved underneath as he began to climb, and said,

"Don't worry, I'll catch you if you fall. I am stronger than you, after all," Silver shook his head. Maybe the Moon Stone was worth it to take her mind off that one fact he had admitted.

"On second thoughts... Typhlosion, can you melt the stone around the Moon Stone? Just to weaken it and let me pry it loose?" he said. Typhlosion reared up obediently and a fortunately small blast of flame spewed from his mouth, concentrating incredible heat on a small area as it weakened the stone's bindings. "That'll do great! Thanks, Typhlosion," Silver said, and Typhlosion growled happily. He haphazardly scaled the cavern wall, finding handholds and footholds in the craggy rock, and eventually he was close enough. Freeing one hand, he tugged on the Moon Stone as hard as he could. Nothing. He steeled himself and pulled again, and this time it broke free; however, it slipped out of Silver's grasp and plummeted towards the floor. Silver could barely look; now if he survived the broken neck from his inevitable fall, he'd have Crystal's wrath to face as well. Fortunately, however, Wobbuffet was at hand; the Moon Stone landed on his head, and bounced off into Crystal's outstretched hands.

"Thanks, Wobbuffet! You're a hero!" Crystal beamed, and Wobbuffet slapped his forehead and cried,

"Wooooooooobuffet!" As Silver miraculously made contact with the floor again with no injuries, he heard a sound of rustling from above.

"Uh oh... I think I know what that means..." he gulped.

"Zubat?" Crystal whispered, and he nodded. Wobbuffet's cry had awoken a huge mob of the bat-like creatures, which pelted down towards the travellers in a squeaking wave of blue and purple.

"Get ready for battle, everyone!" Silver warned, and his Pokemon clustered around him and Crystal in readiness as Tyrogue took up a fighting stance. However, before the Zubats could make contact, another creature appeared from the darkness; a Crobat, who darted over and bathed the Zubats with its Supersonic attack. The creatures began crashing into each other and losing control of their wings; having no eyes, they relied on sonar to 'see' their surroundings.

"Quick! Over here!" a voice from the darkness called, and Silver, Crystal and their Pokemon, as well as Crobat, followed it to its unexpected source. Leaning against the wall was none other than Gold, Silver's former rival. A boy whom Silver had punched last time they met, which created a certain aura of tension as they approached each other. "I saw what you said on TV," Gold said quietly after some silence. He was referring to Silver's public apology to him after losing to the Champion. "And I forgive you. I was wrong to intrude on your Pokemon League challenge, but I was just as pumped as you. I wanted to show you that I can be a great Trainer too, now that me and my Pokemon are great friends. Crobat here was so happy that he evolved," he said proudly, indicating the Crobat perched on his arm.

"You've already shown me what a good Trainer you are, Gold. Crobat's Supersonic back there was amazing," Silver said, and after a moment of deliberation he stretched out his hand. "If we can't be friends, can we at least be friendly?" Gold looked taken aback for a moment as he considered Silver's offer. Then he smiled; not his usual cruel, sadistic smirk but a smile of gratitude and understanding.

"Of course. Perhaps we can put all of that Johto stuff behind us now. We've both grown as people since then," he said, shaking Silver's hand.

"Wow. Wise as well as kind. Thanks for saving us from those Zubats, by the way,"

"Yeah, thanks," Crystal piped up now that she saw relationships were cordial.

"I know from experience that you would have been able to destroy them with ease," Gold said in a faintly haunted voice, and there was a moment of tension again before Crystal broke it.

"How would you like this Moon Stone as a token of our thanks?" she said, holding up the shiny stone.

"What? I risk life and limb for that thing, and now you're giving it up already?" Silver said incredulously. Togetic gave a short squeak of amusement.

"I don't want it, anyway. Moon Stones aren't worth anything to me. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad I saw you, Silver. I want to wish you luck in your journey," Gold said.

"Thanks. That means a lot, coming from you. I hope your training goes well, as well," Silver replied happily.

"Yes. Perhaps someday we'll meet again, and I can show you the results," Gold said in that same haunted voice, and Silver knew that the real Gold was still there somewhere, deep down, and he wanted revenge for his defeats. However, there was no time for tension this time, as Gold released Alakazam and teleported away.

"Wow. Didn't even say goodbye. Handy way to get around, though," Silver admitted, looking at the empty space Gold had occupied only seconds before.

"He still creeps me out a bit. You can tell that he's still got some bitterness in him, even though his attitude has improved," Crystal said, then hugged Silver tightly. "You were the better man back there. You took the moral high ground, and I'm proud of you. You're my hero, as well as Wobbuffet," Silver was taken aback but pleased by her attentions.

"Who else would risk his very life to get you a worthless piece of rock?" Silver joked.

"Worthless? Are you kidding? Moon Stones are worth tons!" Crystal said as they started walking again, holding up the Moon Stone and gazing at it fondly. It didn't take them very long to escape from the tunnels, and it took even less time for Crystal to spot the Mount Moon Gift Shop, into which she dragged a protesting Silver, who could see Cerulean City on the horizon. The two of them nearly collapsed with the irony of the situation as they looked around the Gift Shop; all around them were Moon Stones, many of them bigger than the one Silver had pulled from the wall, and all at what seemed to be insanely low prices.

"Moon Stones are worth tons, are they? Look! This one's twice the size of our one, and look how cheap it is!" Silver snapped.

"Well, at least we have a _proper_ souvenir. Who knows? These might be just rocks painted silver. Let's go; we don't need anything from this junk shop," Crystal sniffed, and the two of them left, one of them clutching their Moon Stone and the other thoroughly bemused.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 7**

"Cerulean City! A mysterious blue aura surrounds it, according to this sign," Crystal said, scratching her head as she looked at the sign, then looked at the buildings to see if any were emitting a faint glow.

"Not literally," Silver pointed out. "It's just poetic. I thought you appreciated that sort of thing,"

"I do, I do... Anyway, aren't we meant to be looking for the Gym?" Crystal hastily tried to cover up her mistake as Silver grinned.

"Yep! Misty, here I come! We've been training up against Water types ever since we read that leaflet, and boy are we ready!" he said enthusiastically, and Crystal sighed with relief as the topic changed. She smiled as she and Tyrogue followed in Silver's wake, watching that familiar determined expression she had grown used to. 'Misty had better watch out after all,' she thought.

"Hey, look! It's Scott!" she suddenly cried, and Silver stopped momentarily to wait for the man running after them and waving his arms. When Scott eventually caught up, he huffed and panted, leaning on Silver's shoulder as he caught his breath. When he felt ready, he smiled and said,

"Hey, champ in the making! After beating Kanto's Gyms, you'll be Champion in no time. Wow, a Boulderbadge! I know you phoned me to tell me about it, but it's still cool up close," he said, giving Silver a high-five as he gazed at the badge interestedly.

"Where's Hypno?" Silver asked concernedly, looking around and not seeing the Psychic Pokemon anywhere.

"He'll catch up eventually. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you can't rush him," Scott said, and Silver had to admit that he had a fair point. "Hi, Crystal. You too, Tyrogue," he turned to the other two, and Tyrogue jumped and punched the air by way of greeting as Crystal replied,

"Hi! So what have you been up to since we left?" Silver stifled a grin. They had come up with a game about guessing Scott's job when they were bored; all they knew was that it was tiring and involved a lot of travelling. The best guess they had come up with so far was a nomadic labourer, which didn't seem too likely, if it indeed existed as a job at all.

"Oh, this and that," Scott deflected her question easily, then turned back to Silver. "Ready for the Cerulean Gym? The Leader's called..."

"Misty, yeah. And she uses Water type Pokemon," Silver finished for him, and he looked disgruntled.

"How d'you know? You haven't got another advisor, have you? Have I been replaced?"

"No, no! We read it off a leaflet!" Crystal pacified him.

"Great. Replaced by a slip of paper. Maybe it's time to call this quits after all..." he grumbled to himself, before coming back to the conversation without giving any indication of what exactly 'this' was. Hypno had chosen this time to make a fashionably late appearance, strolling along as if the world was his oyster and stopping next to Scott expectantly, nodding at Silver once by way of greeting.

"Hi, Hypno! How are you?" Silver said enthusiastically, and was given a thumbs-up in reply.

"Hypno here's been a miracle cure for me. I can't remember the last time I felt so young and fit!" he took up a karate pose almost similar to Crystal's to show off his new-found vitality.

"Best leave that to the professionals," Crystal said, and Tyrogue cried,

"Tyrogue!" and punched the air.

"Anyway, shall we go to the Gym? All of my Pokemon are rested up, we had lunch just before entering the City," Silver said, and Scott agreed.

"Follow me! I'll lead you there, have no fear!" he said, glad to be of some use, and Silver hadn't the heart to point out that it was signposted. The Cerulean City Gym was rather more interesting than the boring grey Pewter City Gym; with an azure roof and a large Dewgong picture on the front, it was simultaneously beautiful and imposing. "So, what tactics are you going to use?" Scott asked as they stood outside.

"You'll see when you come in and watch me battle," Silver invited him. He hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

"OK, but I do have work to do here. Urgent business," he said, but gave no further information. Silver and Crystal exchanged glances and looked away quickly.

"Well, here we go! Time for... Ow!" Silver cried, as he walked straight into the locked door of the Cerulean Gym. "Oh, no... not another one... what's wrong with the Trainers in this screwy region?" he said, examining a note left on the door: 'Misty has gone to Cerulean Cape for the morning and will be available for battles later. Possibly,'

"'Possibly'? That's a bit cruel to potential challengers," Crystal said, reading it when Silver had finished.

"Tell me about it. Well, Scott, you've got the chance to take care of whatever business you need to. Me and Crystal are going up to the Cerulean Cape to find Misty,"

"Great! Well, I'll see you later, then, if only to congratulate you on your victory!" Scott said, and shot off at an incredibly fast speed.

"That guy really is weird. Let's go and ask someone where this Cerulean Cape is," Crystal said, and the two of them walked around in search of a friendly local to interrogate. Eventually they found a deserted Bike Shop and entered the ask the owner. On seeing the, the man behind the desk perked up.

"Customers? Well, I can fulfil all of your biking needs!" he said enthusiastically.

"Er... we're not here for a bike. Sorry. We were just asking for directions to Cerulean Cape," Silver said, watching the man deflate. He sighed.

"Ever since our Johto branch opened, this shop has been dead. Some clever Trainer rode around on one of our bikes as a publicity stunt, and took all the customers!" the man ranted to himself, before settling down and eyeing the two young people intently. "Cerulean Cape, eh? Just keep going north, across the Battle Bridge. Great place to take girls... but I'm sure you know that already," he tipped Silver a huge wink and looked at Crystal expectantly.

"Yeah, I read it in a magazine," Silver deadpanned, and the two of them left the shop in silence. "Just to the north, right? And what's Battle Bridge?" he asked as they walked up the street.

"Don't know. Maybe it's a place where Trainers hang out," Crystal suggested.

"Great! More training! Just what I need to get me psyched up for my Gym battle!" he said enthusiastically.

"How about letting me have some battles as well this time? We haven't trained in combat conditions for ages," she said, patting Tyrogue on the head.

"OK, sure. I haven't seen you in a proper battle for a really long time," Silver replied, amazed but pleased by her request. It only took them a few minutes to reach the Battle Bridge, and they found that Crystal had been correct; five or six Trainers lounged around on it, talking to each other or looking down into the river below. Off to the left was an island covered with what looked like an immense pile of rubble. "Hey, look at this sign. It says that there was once a place called the Unknown Dungeon over there, where really powerful Pokemon lived. But a Trainer came along one day and battled with some sort of Legendary Pokemon, which resulted in its destruction," Silver looked at a plaque nailed to the balustrade of the Battle Bridge, then over to the island.

"A Legendary Pokemon, eh? It says here that it was the one that escaped from the Cinnabar lab. Mewtwo," Crystal said uncomprehendingly, reading off a plaque on the other side.

"Weird name. Shall we?" Silver said, indicating the Battle Bridge, where some of the Trainers were looking at them with interest. The two of them walked up the bridge side-by-side, trying to ignore the many gazes fixed upon them until two people, a boy and a girl, darted in front of them.

"Its' pretty obvious you're Trainers," the boy said.

"And it's pretty obvious you're a couple," the girl said.

"So how about a doubles battle? Couple vs. couple?" the boy continued. Silver looked down and saw with horror that their opponents were holding hands.

"Er... we're not... _together_. Not like that, anyway," he spluttered.

"Yeah, we're just friends," Crystal said quickly.

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue jumped and punched the air joyfully. Silver was just grateful that Wobbuffet was still safely concealed in his Pokeball and so couldn't rise up out of nowhere and cry out. The other couple looked at each other knowingly.

"OK, then. How about a double battle anyway?" the girl said in an all-too-understanding voice.

"Sure. Ready, Crystal?" Silver quickly got the topic back to something he understood.

"Of course. Tyrogue, let's go!" Tyrogue stood ready in front of Crystal, his fists raised.

"Well, Tyrogue's weak against Psychic attacks, so I'd better choose you, Umbreon!" Silver cried, releasing the dark feline Pokemon and hoping to cover Crystal's weaknesses.

"Go, Nidorina!" the girl said, and released a horned, clawed creature with smooth turquoise skin and sharp teeth.

"Go, Wigglytuff!" the boy shouted, and Silver and Crystal almost burst out laughing after a second of shock.

"Wigglytuff? What a masculine Pokemon. We'd better watch our backs," Silver said, and Crystal giggled. However, Wigglytuff inflated himself with anger and hopped over to Silver, delivering a volley of Doubleslaps to his face. "Ow! Keep that beast under control!" Silver cried, backing away.

"Nidorina, Poison Sting Tyrogue!" the girl cried suddenly, beginning the battle, and a volley of poisonous barbs burst from Nidorina's open mouth.

"Wigglytuff, Doubleslap Umbreon!" the boy ordered, and Wigglytuff charged at Umbreon, his pink arm raised for the attack.

"Tyrogue dodge to the left to avoid Nidorina!" Crystal warned, and Silver knew what she was planning.

"Umbreon, Faint Attack Wigglytuff!" he cried, and Umbreon charged at the balloon Pokemon then disappeared as Tyrogue ducked away from the Poison Stings... right into Wigglytuff's path. Wigglytuff squealed as the stings hit him in the back, and Nidorina stopped her barrage at her Trainer's command. Umbreon took advantage of their confusion and reappeared behind Wigglytuff, knocking him forwards into Tyrogue's ready and waiting Mega Punch. Wigglytuff slumped down in unconsciousness as Tyrogue let him have a bunch of fives in the face, his eyes rolling and mouth hanging open.

"Ha! Great punch, Tyrogue!" Crystal cried, and Tyrogue punched the air as he and Umbreon closed in on Nidorina.

"Nidorina, avenge Wigglytuff's defeat! Bite attack!" the girl cried, and Nidorina lunged towards Umbreon, her teeth glinting.

"Umbreon, Quick Attack!" Silver ordered, and Umbreon darted forwards, slamming into Nidorina and retreating before his opponent's snapping jaws could get a fix on him.

"Tyrogue, Hi-Jump Kick from behind!" Crystal ordered, and Tyrogue leapt up, his foot positioned to deal a knock-out blow to the back of Nidorina's head.

"Nidorina, roll to the side!" the girl warned, and suddenly Tyrogue was heading for nothing but the hard wood of the bridge.

"Umbreon, another Quick Attack!" Silver said, hoping that Umbreon would figure out his plan; the Dark Pokemon rose to the occasion magnificently and slammed Nidorina back into place. The Poison Pokemon barely had a chance to recover from that when Tyrogue's Hi-Jump Kick hit home. Silver and Crystal looked away as the blow impacted, and turned to see that Tyrogue was standing triumphantly on the defeated Nidorina. Umbreon was sitting close by, dignified in victory. The girl Trainer burst into tears as she recalled her Pokemon.

"They're way more in sync than we are!" she cried, and hugged her boyfriend.

"Well, at least we now have more of an excuse to train together!" the boy said, and luckily this cheered the girl up; the two of them walked hand in hand off the bridge, not looking back. Silver and Crystal looked at each other in bewilderment, then turned to their Pokemon.

"Great job, guys! You were really good together!" Crystal said, hugging Tyrogue as Umbreon rubbed against her leg.

"Yeah... Wigglytuff won't be coming around any time soon. That was genius," Silver said, still favouring his aching cheek. For some reason, the rest of the Trainers seemed less keen to even look at the newcomers now, as if they feared even meeting their gaze would inspire a challenge. However, there was one Trainer who barred their path; a boy dressed similarly to Crystal, with a Machop by his side.

"I saw you battle back there with your boyfriend. How about battling me?" he said, looking at Crystal and Tyrogue expectantly.

"We're not..." Silver began, but Crystal shushed him and confronted her opponent.

"Sure, I'll battle you. Machop vs. Tyrogue, right?"

"Right! Machop, start off with a Karate Chop!" The grey-skinned, muscular Pokemon charged forwards, raising his arm to prepare for a critical blow.

"Tyrogue, Headbutt!" Crystal retorted, and Tyrogue lowered his head, running forwards to ram Machop off his feet. The two Pokemon collided at the same time; Machop's Karate Chop hit the back of Tyrogue's neck and Tyrogue's Headbutt slammed into Machop's stomach. Both Pokemon recoiled, stunned by their injuries, before squaring off again.

"I've got to warn you, Machop's known at the Superpower Pokemon. He'll never give in!" the boy said as Machop got ready for battle again.

"Yeah? Well, Tyrogue's the Scuffle Pokemon, and he'll never give up either!" Crystal retorted as Tyrogue took up his karate position. Silver could see where this was going; neither of them were going to give up no matter how hurt they were. "Tyrogue, get ready for a Mega Punch!" Crystal ordered, and Tyrogue charged forwards, his fist glowing.

"Machop, Seismic Toss!" And so it went on. As the battle continued, it even drew a number of spectators, who watched the plucky Fighting Pokemon continue to batter each other and come back for more. Both were wounded, but both crawled back onto their feet after suffering a blow. The battle still hung in the balance, but at this rate Silver knew neither would be winners.

"Crystal, I think you'd better stop. Tyrogue looks pretty beaten up," Silver said quietly as Tyrogue struggled back up. He was covered in bruises and welts, but was no worse than Machop, who had suffered his own injuries. Crystal seemed to struggle with herself for a moment, unwilling to concede but seeing Silver's point, then she hit upon a solution.

"How about we call this a draw?" she said to the boy. For a moment Silver thought he was going to demand that they continue, but to his relief he nodded and recalled Machop, then extended a hand.

"Your Tyrogue is really powerful," he mumbled, looking at the floor and reddening as she took his hand.

"Machop's good too. I bet Tyrogue got some really good training out of that," Crystal replied, and the boy looked up and beamed.

"Come on, Crystal. We're looking for Misty, remember?" Silver said, dragging her away before the two Fighting Pokemon Trainers could get absorbed in conversation. Tyrogue limped behind them, looking more pitiful than Silver had ever seen him, but he still had a happy expression. "Tyrogue and Machop were an even match-up. I think even I'd have struggled against him," Silver said, trying to raise Crystal's spirits. Giving up wasn't in her nature, after all.

"No, you would've sent out Noctowl and taken him out in about one hit," she replied, but even she seemed happy after the battle.

"Am I missing something here? You and Tyrogue nearly got pounded to pieces but both of you are grinning," Silver said, looking from one to the other.

"Well, it was a great battle. Tyrogue and I really enjoyed it," Crystal said, and Tyrogue even made the effort to jump up and punch the air. Silver shook his head in wonderment. He didn't think he'd ever understand them. Togetic squeaked and patted him on the cheek as if to console him. The two walked for a while in silence, looking around for any sign of the Gym Leader, but both were forced to confess that they didn't know what Misty looked like at all. They stooped so low as to ask another couple sitting close by to the river and having a picnic, and they pointed out that she'd probably be in her favourite spot nearby. According to rumours, she was meeting someone there. Silver and Crystal followed their directions, and passed the time by looking around at their surroundings as they walked. It was certainly a nice place to relax, with the winding, crystal-clear river and the long green grass, with many perfect places for camping and setting up a picnic. They passed several groups of people on their way, many of them playing with their Pokemon as well as resting. Eventually they spotted a small hill with two people sitting on it, although they seemed to be talking rather than playing or relaxing. As they drew closer, Silver saw that one was a boy, about his age, with black hair and a baseball cap with a Pokemon League logo on it. He wore a blue jacket with a black undershirt, and there was a Pikachu sitting next to him, sipping what seemed to be a bottle of ketchup. With the boy was a girl with short orange hair, arranged in a side ponytail. She wore a small yellow sleeveless T-shirt and cut-off jeans, which were attached to red suspenders. The two were talking animatedly with each other, but stopped as Silver and Crystal approached. The boy muttered something to the girl, a blush creeping up his face, and he grabbed his Pikachu and retreated. The girl looked down on the newcomers, getting to her feet with her hands on her hips and a thunderous expression on her face.

"This spot's taken! Go look for your own place!" she yelled angrily.

"Sorry, we were looking for the Cerulean City Gym Leader. D'you know where she might be?" Silver asked. The girl ground her teeth in fury.

"That's me! I'm Misty. Didn't you read the sign on the Gym, you pest? You've interrupted my... rendezvous. With an old friend," she seemed to be trying to explain herself, but Crystal cut across her.

"Don't speak to him like that! You're a Gym Leader, and it's your duty to accept all challengers!" she shouted back to Misty. Misty stomped down the hill to face Crystal.

"Who asked you, anyway?" Misty snarled.

"You asked for it yourself," Crystal said, and Silver stepped between the girls.

"Whoa! Time-out, time-out," he said, holding up his hands in a pacifying motion, but both girls rounded on him and fixed him with such an identical glare that he was scared into silence. He stepped backwards and resigned himself to a cat-fight, but luckily both girls turned away from each other, their arms crossed and noses in the air.

"Come on, let's go, then. Get this over with quickly," Misty eventually said, and with one last forlorn look at the now-deserted hill she walked off, beckoning Silver to follow.

"I hope you really teach her a lesson," Crystal said, and dragged the stunned boy after the Gym Leader for his second Kanto Gym battle, even more eager to see Misty get beaten than he was.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 8**

"So, pest, are you ready to battle?" Misty asked. They were standing on opposite ends of a pitch resembling a swimming pool, albeit one with several platforms floating in it. Crystal, Tyrogue, Hypno, Togetic and Scott stood at the sidelines as Silver waited opposite Misty. Crystal was glaring at Misty angrily and Silver knew that if he lost he would have more than his own disappointment to contend with.

"OK, Misty. Let's go. What rules do you have here?" Silver asked, tearing his gaze from Crystal to look at the Gym Leader.

"Four Pokemon each. If you beat me, you get the Cascadebadge," Misty replied, and without further ado she released her first Pokemon. "Golduck, I choose you!" A blue-skinned duck-like creature with webbed hands and feet landed gracefully on one of the floating platforms.

"Time to fight fire with fire. Or water with water, I guess... Politoed, go!" Politoed landed on another platform and stared at Golduck, watching his every move intently. Misty went starry-eyed and clasped her hands together over her chest as she saw Politoed, seemingly in a rapture.

"That's gotta be one of the cutest Politoeds I've ever seen! I love it!" Politoed scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as Misty gazed lovingly at him, but she quickly shook herself out of it. "Don't think I'm going to go easy on you, though. My style is an all-out offensive with Water Pokemon, and that's what you're going to get! Golduck, Psych Up!" Golduck merely stood there, placing his hands on his temples and shutting his eyes, obviously preparing for some powerful Psychic attack.

"Politoed, try a Body Slam, quickly!" Silver ordered. Politoed hopped from platform to platform, gaining altitude with each bounce, before slamming down onto the still-motionless Golduck in a clean hit. As Politoed retreated to see the effect of his blow, Misty said,

"Golduck, are you OK?" Golduck nodded once, and she continued, "Disable, then!" Golduck's eyes glowed for a second, but nothing seemed to be happening.

"Politoed, another Body Slam whilst he's just standing there!" Silver cried. Politoed looked set to jump up and start his attack again, but suddenly stopped dead. He turned to Silver and shrugged. "Disable must've taken out your Body Slam, then..." Silver realised, but before he could formulate another tactic Misty was shouting again.

"Golduck, Psychic!" The air rippled with energy and the bead on Golduck's head glowed with different colours as he amassed, controlled and unleashed a wave of Psychic power that crept outwards like a web.

"Politoed, dive underwater to dodge it! You know, for a Water Gym Leader, you don't use many Water attacks," he pointed out to Misty as Politoed slipped into the water.

"We're only just getting started! Golduck, use Psychic to lift up the water!" Misty said, and Silver was stunned into silence, hoping that she wasn't going to attempt what he thought she was going to attempt. Golduck's arms waved as he manipulated the Psychic energy finely, focusing it onto the pool of water so it shimmered with the different glowing colours. With a mighty effort, the water in the pool actually rose up in one huge, coalescing mass; in the middle of it was Politoed, struggling against the Psychic power that simultaneously pummelled him and kept him imprisoned. "Good! Now really show him a Psychic attack!" Misty encouraged, and Golduck blasted the trapped Politoed with more and more mental power.

"Politoed, try Hypnosis!" Silver retorted, and Politoed sent out desperately powerful waves of energy from the swirl on his stomach, clashing with the power of Golduck's Psychic attack.

"Quick, Golduck! Slam Politoed back down!" Misty said as she saw Golduck's eyelids begin to droop, and the mass of water with Politoed inside crashed back down into the pool, splashing everyone close by with droplets.

"Politoed, Surf!" Silver said quickly, and in seconds Politoed had the swirling water under his control, manipulating it into a rushing wave upon which he rode.

"Golduck, use your own Surf!" Misty ordered, and Golduck sleepily tried to amass a wave of his own; his was half the size of Politoed's when the two connected, but it had been enough to dissipate a lot of the Surf's power. What was more, Golduck had snapped out of his sleepy state and was now ready for battle again.

"Don't worry, Politoed. You still hurt him with your Surf," Silver said as Politoed crawled onto a platform close by. Politoed nodded silently and focused on Golduck, who was waiting for Misty's instructions.

"Golduck, Surf again! This time show him all of your power!" Misty cried, and Golduck skilfully gave rise to another wave, perching on its crest and forcing it to surge towards Politoed.

"I think this is a good time for Waterfall, don't you?" Silver said, and Politoed nodded, blasting a spray of water at the base of his platform and shooting up into the air. Golduck's wave stopped in its tracks at its commander looked upwards in shock, only to see Politoed tumbling down, surrounded by a sphere of water. Politoed slammed into Golduck and knocked him off his pedestal, then, by his own volition, exerted his own control on Golduck's collapsing wave, forcing it to flood back in the opposite direction and slam into the stunned enemy. As Golduck floated back to the surface, Misty saw that he was spread-eagled and unconscious.

"Hmph! Pretty lucky for you that Politoed took control there and turned Golduck's Surf against him," she said as she returned her Pokemon.

"Lucky? Are you crazy?" Crystal snapped, but to avert another argument he said,

"Come on, Misty, what's your next choice?" Misty glared once at Crystal before hurling her next Pokeball into the ring.

"Lapras, go!" A large Water Pokemon appeared, looking faintly like a prehistoric creature with its aquamarine flippers, horned head and grey shell.

"Cool, a Lapras! They're quite rare, aren't they?" Silver said enthusiastically. Misty smiled happily.

"Thanks for noticing! She was hard to find and difficult to raise, but now she's trained up..." Misty once again shook her head quickly, snapping herself out of her daydream. "Lapras, attack! Use Blizzard!" A huge, swirling wind of ice chunks blasted from Lapras' mouth, gusting towards Politoed with incredible speed.

"Politoed, underwater!" Silver said, and Politoed slid into the water on his belly, just escaping the worst of the Blizzard that rushed over him.

"Lapras, use Blizzard on the water! Freeze it all up!" Misty said, and Lapras redirected its breath to the pool gradually began to freeze over, covered by a thick layer of ice as Lapras herself heaved onto one of the larger platforms.

"Politoed, quickly! You've got to get up!" Silver said, and Politoed half-managed to obey his order; the ice closed around his back legs as he burst from the water, binding him in place.

"Good job, Lapras! Now, Rain Dance! We need to power up an attack that will take out Politoed in one hit!" Misty said, and Lapras raised its head, squealing and flapping its flippers. Clouds gathered outside and a heavy rain began to pelt Cerulean City as Lapras summoned nature's energy to give her power.

"Politoed, your stomach's free! Try and use Hypnosis!" Silver encouraged, and Politoed twisted around, wincing with pain from his numbing legs, and tried to bathe Lapras in soothing, sleep-inducing energies.

"Lapras, use Surf!" Misty cried. Everyone seemed taken aback by her choice; how could Surf work when all of the water was frozen over? Lapras leapt up into the air, then flopped back down onto the ice, shattering it and sending a wave of freezing water and chunks of ice washing towards Politoed. Unable to escape, Politoed was hit head-on by the wave; numbed by its coldness, battered by the ice and pounded by the swirling water. It was with difficulty that he finally surfaced and dragged himself onto a platform, panting heavily. Lapras, on the other hand, was floating in the water, asleep as Politoed's Hypnosis finally took its effect.

"Rest for a while, Politoed. We can attack later," Silver said. He was so worried about Politoed's condition after that huge Surf attack that he didn't even take advantage of Lapras' slumber.

"Lapras, wake up! Politoed's on the ropes!" Misty yelled, but Lapras didn't hear her, so she gave up and waited it out in silence. When Politoed had regained his breath, looking no less battered but ready for battle again, Silver cried,

"Use your own Surf attack, Politoed! See how Lapras likes it!" Politoed hopped into the water and rose upwards as he formed a wave beneath him; it was harder to control due to the large lumps of ice floating in it, but eventually he had it under his power and made it surge towards Lapras, gaining speed with every inch. Lapras was still asleep as it impacted, so Politoed was able to concentrate fully on his attack, and manipulated it so the ice was pushed to the front, propelled by the surging water behind it. The combination smashed into Lapras with a great crash, sending the wakened Pokemon helplessly backwards as it was buffeted by the water. "Now, Politoed! Waterfall!" Silver said, and Politoed blasted a jet of water off a nearby platform, shooting himself up into the air.

"Lapras, Blizzard!" Misty cried as she saw Politoed fall, and Lapras raised her head slightly, releasing another jet of freezing wind. Misty's purpose was clear, and she carried it out perfectly; the globe of water surrounding Politoed was frozen solid, and Politoed was trapped inside as it fell down into the water, before floating up to the top. "Regain your breath, Lapras. Then get ready to hit him again," Misty said triumphantly, seeing Politoed's dire position.

"Politoed, try and break free!" Silver said helplessly, shouting the obvious just to keep his own spirits up. He could see Lapras getting stronger and stronger as time went on, and when Politoed finally shattered his prison with a great ripple of his entire body, he was helpless, floating in the water, tired out after his ordeal.

"Lapras, another Surf! And make it a good one!" Misty said, and Lapras crawled onto a platform, picked her spot and belly-flopped into the water, once again creating such great ripples that several waves hurtled towards Politoed. The frog Pokemon was powerless to resist as each wave hammered him, each more powerful than the one before, until Silver cried,

"Stop! Politoed's knocked out!" Misty nodded once at Lapras and she let the waves die down, revealing an unconscious Politoed floating in the icy pool. "Politoed, return. You did well to take out Golduck, and you really hit Lapras hard with that last Surf attack. Umbreon, I choose you!" Silver recalled Politoed and Umbreon appeared, standing on a platform gracefully as he eyed the competition.

"Lapras, Blizzard attack!" Misty ordered as she saw Umbreon appear, and Lapras sped forwards to attack.

"Umbreon, we'll go for the unexpected. Use Quick Attack to dodge, but try and hop from one piece of floating ice to another," Silver said, and Umbreon dipped his head slightly before darting off. Silver knew he was asking a lot, but hoped that Umbreon was up to the challenge; he certainly seemed to be as he hopped from one chunk to another, not staying on any for long enough to weigh it down, and slipping out of the clutches of Blizzard infuriatingly easily.

"Lapras, make your Blizzard wider! Try and cover the whole field!" Misty cried, and Lapras' mouth opened wider than ever as she expelled a huge draught of chilling air, doing her best to smother the stadium in an ice-storm.

"Now's the time, Umbreon! Quick Attack Lapras herself before the Blizzard gets too big!" Silver said. Umbreon moved like lightning; he jumped from a platform, bounded across two ice chunks and slammed into the side of Lapras' head, drawing out a pained squeal. "Good! Lapras is weakening! Now, Bite attack!" Silver encouraged. Umbreon followed up his Quick Attack by gripping one of Lapras' ears in his sharp teeth.

"Lapras, dive underwater!" Misty warned, and Umbreon only just dislodged himself in time as Lapras dove down. "Strike back with a Surf attack!" Lapras broke the surface several metres away, rising up into the air before slamming back down into the water, sending more huge ripples out towards the stationary Umbreon.

"Umbreon, wait for it... Now! Faint Attack!" Umbreon stayed put until the first ripple was just about to impact, then vanished, letting the waves hit his platform harmlessly. Lapras squeaked in surprise, and let the waves die down as she swam in for a closer look, wondering where exactly her foe had gotten to. Umbreon answered her unspoken curiosity by reappearing on the back of her shell, charging into the back of her serpentine neck before leaping to safety as Lapras swung around to dislodge her passenger. Lapras was now visibly sweating and even shaking slightly; all of her attacks had failed, whereas Umbreon's had all been dead on target. There was also the fact that Politoed had weakened her in their earlier battle. Misty seemed to notice her Pokemon's suffering, and cried,

"Lapras, Perish Song!" Lapras raised her head and let out a single, chilling note that made the hairs on Silver's neck stand up. Umbreon visibly shuddered from his position on the platform, but seemed physically unharmed by the attack.

"OK, Umbreon... let's use another Bite..." Silver said, feeling slightly disconcerted after Lapras' song. It was as if he couldn't pull his thoughts together properly, and his concentration had broken. Umbreon jumped across several ice chunks and platforms as he drew close, and even his speed seemed to have diminished after the attack. Lapras herself was waiting, her head bowed and eyes closed, the sound of splashing water the only noise in the now-silent Gym. Umbreon managed to fasten his teeth around the base of Lapras' head, and as he increased the pressure Lapras' graceful neck slackened, her head falling forwards into the water as she fainted. Umbreon ran across another ice chunk until he made landfall at another platform, but was really shivering now. "Umbreon, what's wrong?" Silver asked, concerned, but Umbreon only managed a pitiful squeak before collapsing. "Umbreon, no! Come back, it's alright... What was that attack you used?" he asked Misty, recalling his Pokemon and cradling the Pokeball like it was an injured child.

"Perish Song. Makes both Pokemon faint after a short time. I knew Lapras had reached the end of her rope, so I saw it as the best way to defeat Umbreon," Misty said, and there was regret in her voice. Silver knew she cared about her Pokemon, and hated using an attack that relied on the Pokemon fainting, just like Silver himself. But this was an official Gym battle, and neither could hold back.

"Two Pokemon each left," he mumbled, grasping for a third one as he clipped Umbreon's Pokeball back on his belt.

"Yep," Misty said.

"Come on, Silver! You can do it!" Crystal suddenly shouted, and Tyrogue punched the air with a cry of,

"Tyrogue!" Togetic let out a musical chip, and the Gym seemed to get slightly warmer and happier in the aftermath of Lapras' tragic song. It was just what they needed to get them back on track.

"Come on out, Quagsire! We'll show the pest what happens when he interrupts my... meeting with Ash," Misty said, releasing a familiar Pokemon onto a nearby platform. It had a placid face, small eyes and a wide, frog-like mouth. It resembled some sort of salamander, and Silver remembered that it was a dual Ground and Water type; a fearsome combination. Togetic squeaked excitedly as he saw Quagsire, probably owing to the fact that a Quagsire had stolen Togetic when he had still been in his egg to participate in the Quagsire Festival near Cherrygrove City.

"Who've I got left? Let's see... Not Typhlosion, as he's doubly weak against Quagsire. Gengar? He's weak against Ground types too. Noctowl would be a good choice... but I'll save him until later. Best to try and unsettle Misty in this critical stage. That's why I'm choosing you, Wobbuffet!" he hurled Wobbuffet's Pokeball, and the Pokemon landed on a platform, slapping his forehead with a loud cry. Misty looked shocked for a moment, her mouth hanging open. "What's up?" Silver asked her curiously, and with great effort she tore her eyes away from Wobbuffet.

"Oh, it's nothing really... I just used to know these really annoying people... one of them had a Wobbuffet... Anyway, let's battle!" she snapped herself out of a daydream again and stood confidently, smiling at Quagsire. The two blue Pokemon were strangely well matched. There was a certain similarity in their calmness, stillness and simple faces. For a mad moment, Silver was almost overtaken by a desire to burst out laughing as the two Pokemon looked at each other blankly. "Quagsire, start off with Amnesia! Wobbuffet can't fight back, so we can build up our defences!" Misty ordered. Despite this impressive speech, Quagsire didn't move, apart from his mouth opening slightly so his expression was even more vacant than ever.

"Wobbuffet, you'd better get ready for a Mirror Coat. I don't think Quagsire will use that many physical attacks," Silver warned, and Wobbuffet mumbled slightly to show that he had heard.

"Keep up the Amnesia, Quagsire!" Misty encouraged, and Quagsire's mouth opened still wider. Silver stayed silent, waiting for Misty to attack so that he could at least try and use Wobbuffet effectively. "That's enough! Now, strike Wobbuffet with a Surf!" Silver snapped back to attention as Misty finally gave the order, and water swirled up around Quagsire as he bent it to his will.

"Get ready, Wobbuffet," Silver said as the wave started thundering forwards, a still-smiling Quagsire sitting on top. Huge chunks of ice still swirled around inside the wave, and despite Quagsire's expression he was making it build in power and speed with every passing second. "Now, Wobbuffet! Mirror Coat!" he cried, and Wobbuffet was enveloped in a shimmering shield a split-second before Quagsire's Surf hit home. Chaos erupted as the unstoppable force met the immovable object; Quagsire found himself being caught up and pummelled in his own reversed wave, although he was still smiling blankly as he was tossed around like a rag doll. On the other side of the pitch, Wobbuffet had been floored by a wayward chunk of ice that his Mirror Coat hadn't protected him from, and he was having difficulty in climbing to his feet. When he eventually succeeded, groaning weakly, Quagsire was standing on his own platform, ready to continue. "OK, Wobbuffet, you did well to send Quagsire's wave back at him. Very well, in fact. But you can return. I'll save you for later, for Misty's last Pokemon, if that's OK," Silver said, recalling his Pokemon after it gave its consent. Wobbuffet was best used against an all-out attacker, he realised; something as laid-back and yet powerful as Quagsire, who was deceptively alert, could prove to be Wobbuffet's undoing. "Noctowl, it's up to you! No Ground type moves can hurt you, buddy!" Noctowl trilled and spread his wings, circling over the battle-field and watching the unmoving Quagsire.

"Quagsire, get ready for another Surf attack!" Misty cried, and Quagsire once again began to compose a towering wave, buoying himself up to the top as he prepared to unleash it on Noctowl.

"Noctowl, Fly above it!" Silver ordered, and Noctowl darted upwards above the wave. The wave stopped, and Quagsire looked up at his opponent calmly as Noctowl plunged down into the attack. Suddenly, the wave burst upwards like a water spout, propelling Quagsire into a head-butt that struck Noctowl in the stomach, as well as pelting him with water and ice. Noctowl went into a nose-dive and only managed to land on a platform to regain his breath through some good wing-work. Quagsire himself floated in the now-still water, still gazing at Noctowl with that same expression. "Noctowl, are you alright?" Silver asked, concerned, but Noctowl straightened up almost instantly and hooted his challenge, glaring back at Quagsire and showing his readiness. "Good! Try a Confusion attack, and see what Quagsire makes of that. Use the ice," he said on a sudden inspiration, and Noctowl's eyes and crest glowed as he summoned Psychic power. All of a sudden, the ice chunks still floating in the pool were raised up by some invisible force, a second before crunching in on Quagsire all together. As a twist no doubt thought up by Noctowl himself, the ice-ball and the Quagsire inside were then lifted up and smashed down onto a platform, assaulted by waves of mental energy. Noctowl stopped his attack to see what effect it had had, and to his and Silver's consternation Quagsire merely got up from the remains of shattered ice around him, still smiling.

"Special attacks can't hurt you very much after Amnesia, can they, Quagsire?" Misty asked, grinning at Silver's expression, and Quagsire nodded.

"Don't listen to them, Noctowl! That attack must have done at least some damage, it was fantastic!" Silver countered, and Noctowl trilled in pleasure.

"Suit yourself. If you want to keep going down that road, you'll make it easy for us! Quagsire, Slam!" Misty said, and Quagsire leapt up, whipping his tail around to batter Noctowl.

"Noctowl, fly upwards!" Silver ordered at the last minute, and Noctowl darted up as Quagsire's tail sailed into the spot where he had been a split-second before. "Great! Now, Hypnosis! While he's vulnerable!" Noctowl's eyes rippled with many colours as he mentally commanded Quagsire into the depths of sleep. The unblinking, falling Quagsire was easy prey, and he splashed into the water in an uncontrolled fall, asleep.

"Quagsire, no! Wake up!" Misty cried desperately, but Quagsire was floating on is back as if enjoying a relaxing nap.

"Now we've got him right where we want him, Noctowl! Grab him and use Fly!" Silver said. Noctowl plummeted down and grabbed Quagsire by his slippery tail, wrenching him out of the water before flying upwards. Then, curving back down in a steep descent, Noctowl dove towards a platform and swung Quagsire at it with all of his strength. Quagsire slammed onto the hard platform with a loud thump, but he was still asleep after the impact. "Finish him off with Peck!" Silver ordered, and Noctowl landed beside Quagsire, picked his spot, and delivered a precise and critical blow with his diamond-hard beak. At long last, Quagsire's mouth hung open and his eyes rolled in defeat.

"Quagsire, return. My beautiful Starmie, it's your turn!" Misty kissed her last Pokeball and hurled it up into the air. A star-shaped purple Pokemon splashed into the water, the core in its centre glowing with all the colours of the rainbow.

"Noctowl, are you OK to keep going?" Silver asked, and Noctowl nodded once.

"Starmie, hit Noctowl with an Ice Beam! Flying types are weak against Ice moves!" Misty cried, and a crackling white beam burst from Starmie's core, blasting towards Noctowl.

"Noctowl, Fly! I don't know whether Hypnosis will work, seeing as it hasn't got any eyes... but you can beat him anyway, right?" Noctowl gave no response as he darted away from Starmie's Ice Beam, feeling the air freeze behind him as he climbed upwards.

"Keep at the Ice Beam, Starmie!" Misty encouraged her Pokemon, and Noctowl was forced into dodging to merely survive rather than trying to launch his own attack. Silver's mind worked furiously as he tried to think of a way out of this. Noctowl wasn't getting anywhere near Starmie to attack, and Starmie was starting to wear him out with its constant barrage.

"Noctowl, use Confusion on the ice again!" Silver said, not wanting to reveal more so that Starmie would be unprepared for what happened next, but at the same time hoping that Noctowl knew what he wanted him to do. Noctowl's eyes and crest glowed slightly as he gradually gathered the necessary power, putting most of his efforts into escape but powering up nonetheless. When he deemed to time was right, and he expertly dodged another blast of Ice Beam, he lifted up a huge chunk of ice that floated close by, making it hover in front of him. Starmie's Ice Beam hit this floating shield, making it larger and heavier, and Noctowl took his chance to blast it straight towards his opponent. Battering through the Ice Beam, the lump of ice smashed straight into the unsuspecting Starmie, sending it hurtling back into the water. "Good job, Noctowl! That was even better than I had predicted!" Silver said as Noctowl did a lap of honour around the pool.

"Starmie, can you get up?" Misty asked anxiously, and Starmie leapt out of the water onto a platform, as ready as ever to continue. "Starmie, Confuse Ray!" Starmie's core glowed brighter, switching colours rapidly as it sent out waves of befuddling energy.

"Noctowl, counter it with Hypnosis!" Silver said, and the two Psychic energies fought for dominance as the Pokemon grappled silently with each other.

"Starmie, use some of that famous speed! Dodge Hypnosis and keep up that Confuse Ray!" Misty ordered, and Starmie started to dart around, in and out of the water, spinning itself and changing direction impossibly fast as it escaped Noctowl's attack and launched its own.

"Noctowl, focus! Make Hypnosis as wide as you can!" Silver said. He knew making it wider would dilute its power, but he needed Starmie to slow down so a more permanent method of knocking it out could be applied. Noctowl expanded the range of his mental waves, sweating slightly with the effort, and Misty took her chance to turn Silver's orders on their head.

"Starmie, concentrate your Confuse Ray! Blast through that weak Hypnosis!" she said, and Starmie burst from the water, sending out such a focused blast of rays that the air seemed to glow red with their passing. It struck Noctowl squarely, and the Owl Pokemon spiralled down as he was overcome. "Good! Now, Recover!" Starmie started to glow with white energy as it repaired any damage Noctowl's Confusion attack had inflicted, taking advantage of the Owl Pokemon's dazed state.

"Noctowl, try and use Fly!" Silver ordered, but Noctowl was swaying slightly back and forth, finding it difficult to spread his wings without somehow cuffing himself around the head.

"Now's your chance, Starmie! Hit Noctowl with a full-strength Ice Beam!" Misty said, and the triumph was clear in her voice as another blast of icy, crackling energy was directed out of Starmie's core, striking Noctowl dead on. Noctowl was blasted backwards by the attack, hit so hard that Silver was forced to catch him to stop him exiting the arena.

"Noctowl, return. You did really well as well. Well, Wobbuffet, it's up to you," Silver said, recalling Noctowl ruefully and releasing Wobbuffet. He was really nervous now; if Misty had a trick up her sleeve that took advantage of Wobbuffet's inability to attack, he was doomed, and he would have lost the battle.

"Starmie, Confuse Ray! Let's see Wobbuffet counter our moves when he doesn't even know where he is!" Misty said, winking at Silver as she found the perfect chink in his armour. Silver only just managed to stop himself groaning, but he knew that sometimes confused Pokemon could still fight back. That was his only hope, really. Wobbuffet was unmoving as the concentrated Confuse Rays enveloped him, mentally unbalancing him so Starmie could launch an attack with impunity. Wobbuffet started rocking back and forth as if he had lost his balance, and Misty laughed victoriously. "Starmie, time to teach this pest a lesson! Ice Beam!" Yet another Ice Beam lanced from Starmie's core, blasting towards Wobbuffet and threatening not only to strike him hard but to freeze him solid too.

"Wobbuffet, come on! You're my hero, remember?" Crystal cried from the sidelines, but whether this had any effect was debatable.

"Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat! Quickly!" Silver said urgently, almost unable to watch as the Ice Beam hit home. However, as much damage as it did, Wobbuffet was far from knocked off his feet. He stood on his platform, glowing with a silvery coating, and the Ice Beam ricocheted off him, slamming into Starmie with incredible force.

"Wooooooooobuffet!" This was the only noise in the Gym as Starmie floated to the surface, its core flashing dangerously like a siren and its body limp. Silver was shocked into silence for a moment, before jumping up and punching the air.

"Yes! Wobbuffet, you did it!" He pulled Wobbuffet over so that he could hug him, before recoiling at the Psychic Pokemon's frozen touch. The Ice Beam had had its effect alright, but Wobbuffet was still standing and Starmie wasn't. Crystal ran over and picked up Wobbuffet, swinging him around like a pet puppy as she gazed into his hesitant eyes.

"Wobbuffet, well done! That really wiped the smile off her face," she made no effort to keep her voice down as Misty approached, having recalled Starmie. She was smiling sadly and held out a blue badge in the shape of a water droplet.

"Here's your Cascadebadge. You really are a good Pokemon Trainer, although I hate to admit it. I can believe that you'll do really well in Kanto," she said, eyeing his Johto Gym badges as he clipped the Cascadebadge alongside them.

"Thanks, Misty. I'm sorry I interrupted your date, but... Ow!" Misty suddenly looked furious as she whacked him over the head.

"It wasn't a date, pest! It was a meeting! With an old friend!" she said angrily. Silver dragged Crystal away as she looked set to karate-chop Misty, and waved at the fuming Gym Leader as he left, Scott and Hypno in tow.

"Bye, Misty! You're a really good Water Pokemon Trainer, by the way," he said, feeling the lump on his head, and to his relief she was happy again.

"Bye, Silver! Maybe I'll see you again someday, and show me all of your Kanto badges. Well, I've got a certain Pikachu owner to track down..." she said this more to herself than anyone else and Silver shoved Crystal out of the door before she could capitalise on this.

"Whew! Well, that was tough. I won my Cascadebadge, though!" he beamed, admiring it alongside the Boulderbadge.

"Tough? She wasn't tough! You beat her easily. You're just too modest," Crystal huffed as they walked along.

"Well done, champ in the making! That was a great battle. Next stop: Vermilion City! I'll see you there, guys!" Scott said, and after clapping Silver on the shoulder and nodding at Crystal, he sped off in the opposite direction. Hypno tipped Silver a nod and followed in Scott's wake casually.

"Vermilion City! That's where the Pokemon Fan Club is!" Crystal said enthusiastically, and looked as if she was ready to set off straight away.

"Er, hello? Not all of us have been spectators today. Politoed, Noctowl, Umbreon and Wobbuffet need a well-deserved rest, so we're going to the Pokemon Centre first. By the way, thanks," Silver said.

"Thanks? For what?" Crystal asked curiously, changing direction as they headed for the Pokemon Centre.

"I think it might've been you who stirred Wobbuffet into action back there. Without that, I would've been the loser," he admitted. Crystal smiled, but it was understanding rather than teasing.

"Don't put yourself down. It was Misty's poor skills that made you win, not my encouragement," she said. Silver rolled his eyes as Tyrogue punched the air happily.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 9**

"So you _don't_ want to stop off at the Day Care Centre on the way past?" Silver asked Crystal, shocked. It wasn't like her to refuse a visit to a landmark.

"No, I want to get to Vermilion City as soon as possible. Besides, we've already been to a Day Care Centre, remember? Right after Togetic hatched," she tickled the middle head-spike of the Togetic on her shoulder, making him squeal with delight. The two of them were walking south of Cerulean City, the quickest route to Vermilion City; the home of Silver's next Gym challenge as well as the Pokemon Fan Club Crystal was so eager to visit. There was nothing else to do in Cerulean City after Silver defeated Misty, so they had set off almost straight away after Silver had rested his Pokemon. They thought about buying a couple of bikes to speed their progress, but the eye-watering price tag of a million dollars quickly put them off that idea and they decided to proceed on foot. The route down to the Underground, which connected Vermilion City and Cerulean City, was sloping downhill, and the two of them enjoyed the feel of their barely-controlled steps as they walked down it quickly.

"Are you going to become a member of the Fan Club, then?" Silver asked, trying to make conversation as they walked along.

"If I can. Hopefully there'll be a member's pack, with all sorts of cool stuff in," she replied enthusiastically.

"Maybe I could show them all of my Pokemon. And you could show them Tyrogue," Silver suggested.

"I'm sure they'd be happy to look at them all. Strong, happy Pokemon will go down a storm there," Crystal agreed, and Silver smiled. He always enjoyed getting compliments about his Pokemon. They ambled along for a few more minutes before passing the Day Care Centre; it seemed similar to the one in Johto, except the building itself was slightly older. They stopped for a few minutes, leaning on the fence and watching the happy Pokemon play in the garden.

"Hello. Are you here to drop off or pick up some Pokemon?" a quiet voice disrupted their reverie, and they looked around to see a bespectacled old man standing in the doorway.

"No, we're just passing by. All of them look really happy," Crystal said, gesturing at the garden, and the old man beamed.

"Well, you look like travellers. Why not stop for a quick bite to eat before you continue?" he asked expectantly. Thinking it would be rude to refuse his kind invitation, Silver replied,

"Thank you, we'd love to. Come on, Crystal," The two of them followed the old man inside, and he brought out some cups of tea from his kitchen before sitting down on a soft armchair. A Ledyba was clinging to the wall close by to Silver's head, dozing, and Crystal had to cover her mouth to conceal her laughter as he tried his best to ignore it.

"So what brings you two down here?" the Day Care Man asked curiously, sipping his tea.

"We're travelling to Vermilion City. My friend here's on a Gym challenge in Kanto," Crystal replied, jerking her thumb at Silver, who nodded.

"A Gym challenge, eh? Oh yes, I see your badges... Well, with so many on your jacket already, you must have a strong team," the man said hopefully, hinting that he wanted to see Silver's Pokemon.

"OK, but be prepared. They can be a handful," Silver warned, and released all of his Pokemon together. Typhlosion stood next to Silver like a sentinel, dislodging the nearby Ledyba with a flick of his paw and placing it on a cushion nearby. Wobbuffet somehow found room to rise up and shout,

"Woooooooobuffet!" The Day Care Man shifted in his seat as Gengar stared at him, planning some sort of trick, whilst Noctowl perched on the top of the chair above his head.

"Don't worry about Gengar, he won't do any harm. Will you, Gengar?" Silver said firmly, and Gengar reluctantly shook his head, moving closer to Silver and still eyeing the Day Care Man wistfully.

"Well, they're certainly... vibrant," the Day Care Man finished weakly, struggling to find an adjective big enough to describe the team.

"If you want vibrant, you should see Tyrogue... Tyrogue? Where are you?" Crystal said, puzzled, looking into the midst of Silver's Pokemon for Tyrogue.

"Where's he gone?" Silver asked, and Crystal shrugged, now on her feet. Suddenly, they heard an angry hissing from outside, and the three of them ran out into the garden to look. Tyrogue was squared off against a Heracross, from which the hissing noise came, and the Bug Pokemon was flexing his blue arms threateningly. Tyrogue didn't move an inch, and didn't even blink under Heracross' intense gaze.

"Leave him alone at once!" the Day Care Man barked, and Heracross backed off slightly, his wings buzzing in annoyance. Crystal ran over to Tyrogue, who was still glaring at Heracross.

"What's wrong with that guy?" she asked, looking at Heracross angrily herself.

"Quite a sad story, really. He was left here by his Trainer more than a year ago, and his Trainer hasn't been back once. I think Heracross here has been abandoned," the Day Care Man said regretfully, and Silver and Crystal relaxed. They didn't want to battle with such a tragic character.

"What makes someone abandon a Pokemon? Like they're nothing but servants," Crystal said angrily, and despite himself Silver admired her selfless attitude. It saddened him to think of what poor Heracross had been through, and he would probably be angry at everyone too if someone abandoned him.

"If only we could find Heracross a good Trainer to go with. But you already have six Pokemon, don't you, Silver," the Day Care Man said hopefully, and Silver knew he was hoping that he'd accept Heracross anyway, putting one of his Pokemon into the PC. But that would feel just as bad as abandoning it to Silver, so he would never do such a thing. He opened his mouth to say as much when Crystal said,

"What about me? I only have one Pokemon. If you have a Pokeball, I'll take Heracross with me," She said this with such certainty that Silver was forced to admire her again. The Day Care Man looked radiant at this point.

"Oh, you're so kind! I can't thank you enough, I really can't; neither can Heracross," he said happily, and bustled inside. But Heracross looked anything but happy, and with his temporary master's absence he buzzed back over to battle Tyrogue.

"I think Heracross wants to fight you first," Silver said, watching Tyrogue and Heracross square off. Crystal sighed.

"I don't really want to battle poor Heracross, but if he wants me to prove myself, I will," she said, and stood ready to give Tyrogue his orders. Heracross charged into the attack, his horn glowing as he lowered his head. "Tyrogue, it's a Horn Attack! Jump over it!" Crystal ordered, and Tyrogue leapt up, dodging above Heracross' charge and landing behind him. "Good! Now, Headbutt!" Tyrogue pivoted and charged into Heracross from behind, knocking him forwards with a powerful blow. Heracross got up groggily, blinking dumbly for a second, and Silver knew that Tyrogue had the advantage. "Mega Punch!" Crystal called, and Tyrogue slammed his glowing fist right into Heracross' face. Bizarrely, rather than knocking him out, this seemed to wake Heracross up slightly, and he struck back with a Megahorn that sent Tyrogue flying. Crystal smiled as Tyrogue got up. "Looks like this is going to be a good training session, right, Tyrogue?"

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue jumped and punched the air as the Day Care Man emerged again, clutching a Pokeball.

"What on earth is going on here?" he said, outraged, as he watched Tyrogue and Heracross batter each other. The rest of the Pokemon in the garden were even watching the battle; many of them probably wanted to see the aggressive Heracross get his just desserts.

"Heracross wants me to prove myself as a Trainer," Crystal said matter-of-factly as Tyrogue ducked a punch and delivered one of his own.

"This is a Day Care Centre, not a..." the Day Care Man started, but Silver whispered,

"Don't get in her way. She can hit harder than Heracross when she wants to," The man watched Crystal battle for another couple of seconds before replying,

"I see your point. Well, here's the Pokeball, anyway," He handed the Pokeball to Silver, who tossed it to Crystal.

"Tyrogue, one last Mega Punch!" Crystal cried, and hurled the Pokeball almost the second she caught it. Tyrogue knocked Heracross off his feet with his blow, but before Heracross could hit the ground he was drawn inside the Pokeball. It shuddered and shook for a second or two before sealing itself. Crystal walked over triumphantly and clipped the Pokeball to her belt. Then she turned to Silver and took up one of her favourite karate poses; "I caught Heracross! Hoo-hah!"

"Wow. Good battle," Silver said, looking at the Pokeball containing Heracross and barely able to believe his eyes. For so long, it had just been Crystal and Tyrogue, and it was odd to think that now she had a new companion.

"Thank you, Silver. And thank you... er... mister. Heracross will have a good home here," Crystal addressed the Day Care Man and patted the Pokeball gently.

"I'm sure he will. It's odd seeing him go, though; he's been here for a very long time. Although our other residents won't miss him, as he challenged them to combat almost every day," he added as an afterthought. Silver and Crystal said their goodbyes to the old man after taking some of his cakes as a gift, and set off down the hill again.

"I honestly can't believe what I'm seeing. We come down here just to get from town to town, and we've ended up with a whole new family member!" Silver said, referring to the way Crystal always called them a little family.

"It feels pretty surreal to me, as well. But with the love and attention he deserves, I think Heracross will end up to be a great Pokemon," Crystal said wisely, and released Heracross to walk alongside Silver and his Pokemon.

"Say hello, guys. This is your new friend, Heracross," Silver said, and the Pokemon crowded around the new arrival. Immediately on seeing the huge Typhlosion, Heracross smiled and swung a glowing horn at him, eager to challenge such a powerful opponent. Typhlosion, however, was ready for him, and dodged out of the way; the Megahorn sailed past and hit Wobbuffet, who was glowing with a red aura. Heracross sailed backwards and started rolling uncontrollably down the hill, shaken by his own redirected attack. "Well, that broke the ice," Silver said as Crystal ran down to reclaim her Pokemon.

"Heracross, that's not a nice thing to do! We train for an hour every day, and you can fight whoever you want then, OK? Wobbuffet just showed you what happens to bullies," Crystal scolded the Bug Pokemon, who hung his head. However, after his misadventure with Wobbuffet's Counter, he didn't try anything else. Silver thought this was partly due to Noctowl's stern gaze; as a Flying type who could also use Psychic moves, he was doubly effective against the dual Bug and Fighting type. After a few minutes of uninterrupted company, Silver thought that he had Heracross pegged. He was aggressive and determined, but the loyalty he must have felt to his past Trainer still remained, and had presumably been transferred to Crystal due to her kindness. Fortunately, or unfortunately perhaps, they were challenged by a Trainer just outside Vermilion City, at the end of the Underground Path.

"How about a one-on-one battle? I've been waiting for Trainers all day, you know," the boy said carelessly. He was wearing the high-quality clothes of a Cooltrainer, and seemed to be continually shaking his well-groomed hair out of his eyes.

"OK, sure, I'll take you on," Silver said, stepping forwards eagerly, but Crystal pushed him aside and addressed the boy herself.

"Let's battle! Heracross, it's time to show me what you can do!" she said, unleashing Heracross before anyone else could complain.

"Fine. Perhaps when I've finished with you, I can battle him," the Cooltrainer said, pointing to Silver, and Crystal gritted her teeth angrily. "Persian, go!" A cat-like creature with cream-coloured fur emerged, elegant and yet vicious at the same time.

"You can do it, Crystal! You too, Heracross!" Silver encouraged them, but his hopes weren't high. He knew Crystal was a good Trainer, but she had only had Heracross for an hour or so, and Heracross was so temperamental anyway.

"Heracross, Horn Attack!" Crystal ordered, and Heracross lowered his head and buzzed into a charge, his impressive horn lowered.

"Persian, Double-Edge!" the Cooltrainer cried, and Persian charged towards Heracross quickly, ignoring his horn. At the last minute, Persian ducked aside, dodging the Horn Attack, and slammed into Heracross. Heracross fluttered backwards, injured, whereas Persian had suffered only a slight amount of recoil damage. Before Crystal could open her mouth, Heracross jumped up and darted into battle, his face irate as he slammed his Megahorn down without warning onto Persian's head. As Persian staggered backwards, stunned by the unexpected blow, Heracross continued to batter and pound his foe with chitinous fists.

"Heracross, stop it!" Crystal pleaded, but it was to no effect; Heracross lifted Persian up, span him around and slammed him back into the ground with an earth-shuddering impact. Heracross spread his arms, lifted up his horn and cried out his victory to the sky, a look of exhilaration on his midnight-blue face.

"Persian, return. Don't worry, it was just surprise that caught us out. The Elite Four would never have such uncontrolled Pokemon," the Cooltrainer said coldly, and stalked off, shaking his hair out of his eyes contemptuously one last time.

"Heracross, return. You did well, but you have to listen to my orders in battle. If we go up against someone expecting a berserker attack, we'll get splattered," Crystal pleaded, recalling her victorious Heracross. She shared an almost apologetic look with Silver, who managed to get his mouth working again after the shock.

"Well, that was... impressive," he said, completely truthfully.

"But not in a good way. Heracross is like Eevee used to be, only more brutal," Crystal said, gazing at her Pokeball as if she felt alienated from the creature inside. She referred to the times when Umbreon was in his first stage of evolution, and often took the battle into his own hands to claim victory. He, however, did it with finesse and skill, whilst Heracross used brute strength.

"He must be at a high level to be so strong. The Day Care Centre must do wonders for a Pokemon," Silver said, trying to cheer her up as they slowly walked up the steps and entered Vermilion City.

"Mmm. Well, I'll try hard, and eventually Heracross will obey me. With me directing him in battle, and his strength, we'll be unbeatable," Crystal promised, seemingly reinvigorated by the sunlight as they emerged from the Underground Path. Silver pondered on her words silently as they made their way to the Pokemon Centre. She would need to try hard, that was for sure. But the strange thing was that despite Heracross' seemingly uncontrollability, he knew she had it in her.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 10**

Silver sighed happily as he looked out across the sea at the sunrise. Crystal had dragged him out of bed at the Pokemon Centre at an inhuman time to watch a seaside sunrise, but now that he was sitting on the dockside watching it he was quite enjoying himself. The Pokemon crowded around them, also looking on with various degrees of enthusiasm. Politoed, Typhlosion and Togetic were watching the dazzling display of colours on offer contentedly, despite their tiredness; Umbreon, Gengar and Noctowl seemed to be struggling to stay awake, as a sunrise would normally herald their bed-time; it was impossible to say whether or not Wobbuffet was affected by the scene, as he merely stood there silently; and Heracross had jumped an unsuspecting Tyrogue at the earliest opportunity, so Crystal was concentrating on separating them. When Heracross had been reluctantly returned, Crystal suggested,

"Let's have our breakfast out here for a change, rather than in the Pokemon Centre,"

"Sure," Silver replied, and rummaged in his backpack for some food. Laying out a small pile of Pokemon food for each of their companions, and taking a sandwich and some fruit for themselves, they sat in peaceful silence as a boat made its way lazily across the horizon. "I can't remember the last time we had a picnic for breakfast," he remarked.

"Not for a while. We should do it more often. This morning sea air is really perking me up; I feel ready to train all day!" Crystal replied, and jumped to her feet.

"I'll need to train with you, if I want to win my next Gym battle. Scott phoned and said that he'd be here tomorrow, so I'll wait for him," Silver said, stretching and yawning. "Don't forget to go to the Pokemon Fan Club," he reminded her, and she slapped her forehead.

"Of course! Well, maybe half a day of training, then..." The two of them slowly packed up their picnic gear and made their way down the dockside, sticking to the seaside path which they hadn't seen since Olivine City back in Johto; a time which seemed a million years ago to the two of them.

"It certainly lives up to its name, doesn't it? The Port of Exquisite Sunsets. And sunrises, I guess," Silver said placidly.

"Yes. Hey, look over there!" Crystal suddenly said, pointing towards a building site close by. There was a man standing in the midst of it, alone save for a Machop that was hefting a huge load of bricks.

"Come on, come on! It's already taken years for us to get this far!" the man cried when Machop paused to wipe his brow.

"Hey, you! Leave him alone!" Crystal had stomped over to yell at the man before Silver could restrain her, and he followed meekly in her wake. The man and his Machop turned to look at Crystal, who was actually picking her way through the wreckage to confront them.

"Who are you?" the man asked angrily. Machop merely stood there, still carrying the massive load of bricks as if he didn't dare to put them down.

"Just someone concerned for Machop's welfare. Somebody has to be, after all," Crystal replied scathingly. Silver rolled his eyes and on balance thought it best to throw in his lot with Crystal now that she had gotten them involved.

"Why are you working him so hard, and yet standing there and doing nothing yourself?" he asked.

"Machop's the Superpower Pokemon! I'd only get in his way. Besides, I didn't know it was any of your business how I run my building site, thank you," the man said, and there was a tense silence that followed.

"Why don't our Pokemon help you? They'd work well with Machop," Crystal suggested, and Silver was nodding before he could stop himself.

"Our Pokemon? Our dysfunctional family, doing hard labour? Are you crazy?" he whispered.

"Maybe I am. If you want to go to the Fan Club, go ahead, but I'm staying here," Crystal replied.

"Let's see what Pokemon you've got, then. See whether they're up to the task," the man boomed, and Silver reluctantly released his own team as Crystal let Heracross loose. After a few manic minutes, each Pokemon had been given a specific job, and to everyone's surprise they did quite well; Tyrogue and Machop, both on brick duty, worked especially well together. Politoed was tasked with moistening the mortar and cement with jets of water from his mouth, Typhlosion used his Strength to lift up piles of bricks, and Noctowl made an excellent 'delivery boy', especially when he levitated materials with his Confusion. Heracross worked alone in the corner, using his great strength to build the wall, flying upwards on his buzzing wings to add higher levels. Umbreon, Togetic and Gengar, unsuited to physical labour, watched and gave direction when needed, whereas Wobbuffet was merely Wobbuffet. Silver, Crystal and the man watched from the side, and were strangely impressed by their Pokemon's prowess.

"Wow. This is going way better than I expected," Silver admitted as Noctowl flew overhead, directing a seemingly unsupported blob of cement over to Heracross.

"I knew they had it in them. Besides, this is all training! Builds up muscles!" Crystal said enthusiastically. Silver took her aside when the man wasn't looking, and whispered,

"So how long are we going to stay here? I don't plan on making this a lifelong job,"

"Don't worry, only until he calls a lunch break. Then we'll make our excuses and leave, having done our good deed for the day," Crystal replied.

"And if he doesn't call a lunch break?"

"Then we run when his back's turned,"

"Ah. Glad to see you've planned for this," he teased. She punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"You know you've enjoyed yourself here as well. The Pokemon are really getting into it,"

"Talking of Pokemon... Gengar, get back here now!" Silver cried, and only just diverted Gengar from creeping up on the owner of the building site, no doubt with some trick in mind. Crystal giggled.

"Imagine what Hypno would be doing if he was here," The two of them took up identical relaxed poses and gave each other a thumbs-up. Suddenly, they heard a cry of,

"Lunch!" Silver shoved Crystal in front of him to explain about taking their leave; the owner of the building site was looking more sweaty and stressed-out than ever.

"Er... we have to get off now. We've got urgent business. He's got a Gym battle," Crystal said nervously under his stern gaze.

"Running whilst the running's good, eh? Well, I'm sure Machop will be grateful for that," the man replied, trying to make them feel guilty. To his surprise, and Silver's too come to that, Crystal said,

"Machop _will_ be grateful, because we've provided some civil company and helped him, unlike _someone_ I could mention," She grabbed Silver and dragged him off, stopping only to recall Heracross and summon Tyrogue back to her. Silver's Pokemon followed, led by a happily-squeaking Togetic who managed to land on Silver's shoulder just in time.

"I never knew you could be so... contemptuous," Silver said as they left the building site, leaving the owner scratching his head, his mouth opening and shutting like a goldfish as he struggled for a retort.

"Only to those who deserve it. Let's get to the Fan Club," she said, so fiercely that Silver didn't dare remind her that she had volunteered for the building work and that it was lunch time. His stomach, however, took control and gave a loud rumble. "Hungry, are we?" she asked Silver sarcastically, and Togetic squeaked in laughter.

"Maybe they serve refreshments at the Fan Club," Silver said hopefully, more to his aching stomach than anyone else. The Pokemon Fan Club of Vermilion City was an odd place. The walls were painted with pictures of many different Pokemon, and there were dolls and statues as well as the real thing crammed inside the small clubhouse. They stayed well clear of a girl offering to trade an apparently rare Farfetch'd for a Spearow; they had bad memories of Farfetch'd from their last encounter with such a creature. The people inside were self-confessed Pokemaniacs, who were showing off their Pokemon companions to anyone who would listen. Crystal got waylaid by a man who had all three evolutions of Tyrogue, and Tyrogue himself was looking admiringly at each one, deciding which he would evolve into. Silver, as soon as an overenthusiastic kid announced to everybody that he had ten badges, was swamped with requests to see his Pokemon, and after Togetic was passed from pillar to post like a plaything, he thought it best just to give them a preview of the whole team and release the much larger Typhlosion. People stepped back out of either fear or respect, but they still examined Typhlosion as closely as they dared, commenting on the fine quality of his fur and even his fangs. Luckily, his increased status allowed him to procure some refreshments, and soon his stomach had quietened down again and he was allowed to concentrate.

"So you say he was given to you as a Cyndaquil in New Bark Town? He must be really happy to have stayed with you for so long and be in such good condition," one boy said, looking beadily up into Typhlosion's face.

"Yeah, me and Typhlosion are the best of friends. He's never failed me before, and I don't think he ever will," Silver replied, and Typhlosion grunted happily.

"I love Togetic. Apparently they have to be really happy to evolve from Togepi, so you must've done a great job," a girl said as she stroked Togetic's head lovingly.

"I got Togetic as an egg, actually... but it's a pretty long story. Maybe I could tell it to you later," Silver said, but Togetic showed what he thought of that idea by wriggling free of the girl, landing on Silver's shoulder and glaring at him angrily as if to say, "How could you let such things happen to me?"

"And you say you're challenging Lt. Surge for your Thunderbadge tomorrow?" a gentleman asked.

"Yep. I guess from the name of the badge that he uses Electric Pokemon," Silver replied, and several girls swooned.

"He's a real tough guy. Survived the war, and used his Pokemon to zap his enemies. So tall and handsome..." one of them said, and the rest giggled.

"D'you know what Pokemon he uses?" Silver asked, doing his best to ignore them.

"Raichu, of course, which is his favourite. Electabuzz is one of his most dangerous ones... and there's Magneton as well. Possibly Voltorb or Electrode, but I'm not sure," the gentleman responded.

"Yeah, he's got an Electrode. Watch out for it... Kaboom!" a nearby Pokemaniac mimed an explosion and laughed to himself.

"Well, I'd quite like to see you battle Lt. Surge. I'm the Chairman of the Fan Club, you see, and I just love Pokemon of all descriptions; I'd like to see such well-conditioned Pokemon in battle," the gentleman revealed, and Silver was slightly taken aback.

"Uh... OK. I guess you can watch. You can sit with my other friends, if you like," Silver said.

"Excellent! I'll look forward to it! I'll meet you outside the Gym tomorrow morning, then," the Chairman replied happily.

"But there's one thing I'd like in return... could you let my friend Crystal join your club? She loves Pokemon, and she loves landmarks like this," Silver caught him as he made to leave. The Chairman smiled warmly.

"Of course. Let me just find our membership pack..." he bustled away, but before Silver could question the Pokemaniac on his knowledge of Lt. Surge Typhlosion bounded up to him and gave him a look which said, "Let's get out of here," Silver looked over to where Typhlosion had vacated and saw a girl following him with a comb and a bow. "Oh, come on, Typhlosion. You'd look great with that pink thing in your fur. So much more intimidating," Silver joked. Typhlosion grunted in a non-committal sort of way and made for the door, Silver and Togetic following in amusement, and they managed to grab Crystal and Tyrogue on the way out.

"Hey, I was quite enjoying myself. And so was Tyrogue," Crystal pouted as they left, and Tyrogue jumped and punched the air with a cry of,

"Tyrogue!"

"Well, Typhlosion was about to be accosted by a pink bow, so I thought we'd better leave before he burned the building down. Anyway, I managed to secure you membership; the Chairman said he wanted to watch my Gym battle, and I let him as long as he accepted you as a member," Crystal beamed at him.

"Silver, that's so kind of you! You really are a good friend," There was nothing Silver could really say in response to this so he said,

"I notice you didn't let Heracross out for the club to look at," Crystal gave him a look.

"Do you honestly think Heracross would sit calmly whilst people prodded and poked him? He can't even sit calmly when he's on his own,"

"I suppose not. I should've really sent out Wobbuffet and seen what they made of him,"

"They probably would have renounced themselves as Pokemon Fan Club members and turned in their badges. Oh, don't look like that, Silver, I'm only joking," Having escaped the Fan Club, the two of them made their way back to the Pokemon Centre. For the rest of the day they rested or trained; Heracross even mock-battled with Gengar so that Crystal could at least try to teach him some discipline. Silver didn't let any of his Pokemon off, but concentrated on Typhlosion, Umbreon, Gengar and Wobbuffet in particular. Noctowl and Politoed, after all, were weak against Electric types, so he wouldn't be using them. He had a feeling that his Pokemon needed all the training they could get to overcome Kanto's third Gym and earn him a coveted Thunderbadge.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 11**

"Wakey wakey. You don't want to be late for Lt. Surge, do you?" Crystal said impatiently from his doorway. Silver jumped out of bed at her words, remembering that his Gym battle was today, and quickly banished her so he could get dressed as quickly as possible. He was more nervous about this Gym battle than any of his Kanto ones so far. Electric Pokemon were fast and extremely powerful; without a Ground type in his team to negate their powers, he would have to be at the top of his game to win. After a quick wash, and making sure that Togetic was on his shoulder and his Pokeballs were at his belt, he followed Crystal down to the Pokemon Centre's food hall for some quick breakfast.

"Come on, guys. Eat up. I want you to be the best you can possibly be today," Silver said nervously as his Pokemon started on their breakfast.

"You're really pumped about this, aren't you? Well, I'm behind you all the way. I know you can do it, even without the type advantage," Crystal said, which made him feel slightly better. It didn't help that he knew the Pokemon Fan Club's Chairman would be there watching, but Scott had also assured him that he would be there to cheer him on. After his Pokemon had eaten his fill, and he had eaten sparsely due to Crystal's constant reassurance that having food inside him would help him concentrate, he recalled them all and shot out of the room, Crystal and Tyrogue following behind in exasperation. "Silver, wait up! You need to calm down; Lt. Surge isn't going to make allowances," she advised when he had slackened his pace slightly.

"I know, I know... but Electric Pokemon are really dangerous. If I make a mistake, I'll get zapped, and it could mean the end of the battle," Silver replied nervously. "What the...?" They rounded the corner behind which lurked the imposing Vermilion City Pokemon Gym and stopped dead in their tracks. Standing outside were Scott, the Chairman, and what looked like half of the Fan Club.

"Uh oh..." Crystal said as they cautiously approached.

"Please let this not mean what I think it means," Silver pleaded, but the great cheer given out by his rallied-up supporters confirmed his worst fears.

"Good morning, my boy! I've brought along a few members of the club to watch your battle too. I trust you don't mind?" the Chairman shook his hand and smiled benignly. Unwilling to disappoint the Fan Club members who had come especially for this, Silver sighed and said,

"Sure. They can watch. Just try and keep them as quiet as possible, please," he finished as politely as possible, but he knew he had to put his foot down. The Chairman waved his hand as if it was of no importance.

"Of course, of course... I wouldn't want to disrupt your concentration. Shall we enter?" He held open the door for Silver, who entered after sharing a welcoming glance with Scott, who had been pushed out of the way by the bustling fans. Crystal seemed to find the whole experience hilarious, but the Togetic on her shoulder squeaked his support of Silver, a note which bolstered his resolve. All he had to do was tune them out; if he didn't look at the sidelines, and they were as silent as they promised, he could even forget they were there. Standing on one end of the polished wooden battle-field was Lt. Surge. He was quite tall and thin, but obviously had lean muscles from his time as a soldier. He wore sunglasses like Scott and camouflage-patterned clothes as if he were stalking through some distant jungle on an infiltration mission. His skin was pale and his yellow hair was spiked-up, a style which seemed popular in Kanto Trainers.

"Morning, kid! You must be pretty good if you've already got a fan base," Surge said without preamble.

"Mmm. Well, I'm sure you know that I'm here to challenge you for a Thunderbadge, so shall we begin?" Silver replied.

"Good! A Trainer who wants to get down to business! It takes guts to challenge me, civilian. I admire that, even from a Johto boy. Electrode, go!" Surge released a spherical red and white Pokemon who looked almost like an upside-down Pokeball.

"Civilian? Johto boy?! Right, let's show him, Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet's usual position of 'last resort' was being turned on its head today, hopefully with good results.

"Electrode, Double Team!" Surge ordered, and a dozen Electrodes suddenly circled around Wobbuffet.

"Ignore it, Wobbuffet. It can't hurt you," Silver said flippantly, and indeed Wobbuffet stood unmoving as Electrodes encircled him. When no further orders were forthcoming, Surge looked decidedly unimpressed.

"Just a spoiled brat, Electrode. Thinks he's the top Trainer in the world. Blast his Pokemon with Swift and show him just how wrong he is," A volley of glowing, spinning stars blasted towards Wobbuffet from every direction; it looked impressive and beautiful, but Silver wasn't going to stay and admire the view.

"Wobbuffet, Counter!" he cried, and suddenly Wobbuffet was glowing with a red aura. The fake stars vanished into nothingness as soon as they touched him, and the real ones ricocheted off in all directions, blasting away the fake Electrodes and hammering the real one. The now-lone Electrode rolled backwards, stunned by the ferocity of the blow. "Great one, Wobbuffet!" Silver encouraged, and was rewarded with a loud,

"Woooooooooobuffet!" Lt. Surge gave a small smile of new respect.

"Looks like he wasn't just being laid back, Electrode. Balloon boy there can shoot our own attacks back at us,"

"Leave Wobbuffet alone!" Silver cried, incensed; he could stand insults to himself, but not his friends, family or Pokemon.

"OK, OK, simmer down. Electrode, hit him with a Screech. Lower his defences, then strike him hard, right?" Electrode gave no sign of hearing this, but his grin stretched wider and a concentrated blast of sonic energy rippled through Wobbuffet, making the creature shiver. Silver knew that Wobbuffet had been shaken up by the attack, but as Wobbuffet couldn't strike back against a non-direct attack he was powerless to do anything. It was the same problem he had against Misty's Quagsire. "If he's not going to order his Pokemon, he'll pay the price. Electrode, get in nice and close and give him an Explosion," Surge ordered. Electrode managed to roll under his own power until he was literally face-to-face with Wobbuffet, and he started to glow ominously.

"Wobbuffet, look out! Explosion's an ultra-powerful attack! Try and Counter it!" Silver warned. Explosion was possibly the most powerful attack in any Pokemon's arsenal; so powerful, in fact, that the Pokemon carrying it out was almost always overcome by the raw force it channelled. Silver had encountered it before against Koga, and it had taken out Typhlosion in one hit. With a huge bang that made the entire Gym shudder horribly and a blinding flash, Electrode released all the power at his disposal, concentrating it all in a tiny blast radius. When the smoke and dust thrown up by the attack cleared, Wobbuffet was flat on his back, and defeated. Electrode was similarly charred and looked almost more beaten up than Wobbuffet, but he had achieved his goal.

"Electrode, return. Great Explosion,"

"Wobbuffet, come back. Don't worry, he fainted no matter what, so you can rest easy," Silver recalled Wobbuffet at the same time that Lt. Surge drew back Electrode.

"You tried to catch me out with the unexpected, kid, but in the end it was you who got caught out. You'll need to sharpen up; I made that one easy for you by making Electrode himself faint too. Magneton, go!"

"I've got just the right opponent for Magneton, don't you worry. Typhlosion, I choose you!" Typhlosion reared up onto his hind legs and his neck-flames burst into life. Being a Fire type, he was super effective against Magneton's Steel characteristics.

"Types don't make the battle, boy," Surge said sharply, and Silver rolled his eyes. He was tired of being told that.

"Typhlosion, start off with a Flame Wheel! Show Lt. Surge and Magneton what it feels like to be on the wrong end of a super effective attack," Silver ordered, and Typhlosion opened his mouth wide, disgorging a swirling tunnel of flame that sought to wind itself around Magneton before closing in and exploding.

"Magneton, counter it with Double Team!" Surge responded, and in the blink of an eye Typhlosion was surrounded by lifelike images of the real Magneton, who was impossible to discern among them. Needless to say, as soon as his Flame Wheel struck home, the Magneton under attack merely fizzled out of existence; a fake. "Magneton, now attack with Swift! Typhlosion can't use Counter, I'm sure of that," Surge continued with a sneer, and once again a glittering swarm of stars blasted towards Typhlosion from every direction.

"Typhlosion, drop down! Then Quick Attack to dodge!" Silver ordered. Typhlosion threw himself forwards onto all fours and darted away, under the hovering Magneton images, with a silver trail glowing behind him. However, the stars altered their course and slammed into him anyway, catching him unawares and throwing him off his paws.

"Swift never misses. Magneton here's an incredible marksman," Surge said proudly, and the dozen or so Magnetons crackled with pleasure. "We've got him on the run, Magneton! Zap Cannon!" Electricity started building up on each separate magnet, focusing in the very centre to produce one throbbing orb of pulsing energy.

"Typhlosion, Quick Attack again! Zap Cannon's too unwieldy to be impossible to dodge," Silver said quickly, seeing the amount of effort the Magnetons were putting into focusing the ball of lightning. Typhlosion zig-zagged all over the battle-field, a dark and cream-coloured blur as he changed direction, leapt and rolled. The Zap Cannon, when it was finally unleashed, slammed against the floor a good two feet behind him, exploding in a burst of electricity. Silver took advantage of this, and traced the one real Zap Cannon back to its source; soon he had the real Magneton pegged from amongst its fellows. "Typhlosion, that one! Use Flamethrower!" Silver cried, and Typhlosion stopped in his tracks abruptly, unleashing a wave of flame at the Magneton Silver pointed towards.

"Magneton, Swift!" Surge shouted, and Silver knew instantly that he had picked the right one; a blast of shining stars was launched from it, hammering against the Flamethrower continually and stopping it a mere metre away from Magneton.

"Keep it up, Typhlosion! He can't do that forever!" Silver encouraged, although Typhlosion was too focused to make any reply.

"Magneton, give up your Double Team and concentrate your power on that Swift!" Surge ordered, and the rest of the fake Magnetons faded out of sight as Magneton screwed up all of his concentration and did his best to stave off the roiling flames. There was silence from both Trainers for a few moments as they waited to see which way the battle was going to fall. However, both Pokemon were pitting their reserves against the other, and a loser didn't look probable for a while yet. Silver wracked his brains on how to break this deadlock, repeating Typhlosion's moves to himself and wondering which could be of use. He knew that on the other side of the field Lt. Surge was thinking up a battle tactic of his own, doubtless remembering a similar evenly-matched scenario from his war days and trying to remember how it had been overcome. Eventually, it was he that gave in; "Magneton, use Lock On! And try some aerial manoeuvres whilst you're at it," Magneton stopped the Swift instantly and darted upwards, only being singed by Typhlosion's Flamethrower. His three eyes were focusing intently on Typhlosion and seemed to be glowing slightly blue.

"Typhlosion, keep up your Flamethrower!" Silver cried, and Typhlosion renewed the attack, blasting jets of fire at Magneton as he did his best to clumsily dodge away. When the Electric Pokemon was nicked by a particularly harsh burst, Lt. Surge said,

"That should be enough. Zap Cannon, again!" Electricity began to gather around Magneton's magnets again, but Silver knew that a tried and tested technique was in order.

"Typhlosion, use Quick Attack to dodge it again," he said, wondering what Lock On could have achieved. It sounded like Magneton had pinpointed Typhlosion's position somehow, but what use was that now that Typhlosion was all over the place? It was with a certain feeling of foreboding that he watched Magneton launch the Zap Cannon towards Typhlosion, but once again it was several metres off-target... or was it? As if it had a mind of its own, the crackling orb changed direction mid-flight and was suddenly slamming itself into Typhlosion head-on. Typhlosion roared as it exploded, throwing him upwards and sending him flying backwards. As he lay on his back, panting heavily, small bolts of electricity ran up and down his mighty body like spiders.

"Ha! A deadly combination, that. Lock On and Zap Cannon... Zap Cannon always Paralyses, of course. It may be unwieldy, but when a Pokemon uses Lock On right before it, it can't fail to hit," Surge punched the air smugly, a huge grin on his face.

"Typhlosion, can you get up? I'm sorry I didn't predict that, I'd never heard of Lock On before..." Silver explained, ignoring Surge and focusing on his Pokemon as it climbed doggedly to its feet. Its flame ruff wasn't lit, which showed how weak he was, but it was hardly important in the big scheme of things anyway. He roared again, a stronger roar than Silver would have thought possible after such a blow, but as he reared up he shared half a glance with Silver that conveyed his thoughts perfectly: 'I'm in no condition to use a lot of speed anymore. That Zap Cannon hit hard,'. "Don't worry, Typhlosion. You can still win this," Silver encouraged, and Typhlosion expelled a jet of smoke from his nostrils.

"He's rooted in place, Magneton. We don't even need a Lock On this time; just go ahead and hit him with a Zap Cannon that he'll never forget!" Surge cried, and Magneton gathered the necessary power to himself, making sure to focus it as much as possible to make this the last blow of their battle.

"Typhlosion, Flamethrower! Quick, whilst he's preparing!" Silver ordered, and Typhlosion's mouth opened wide as he prepared to unleash an equally powerful rush of fire. However, his eyes widened suddenly and he grunted in pain, as only a faint sputter of fire escaped his jaws; he was Paralysed! Magneton's Zap Cannon pulsed through the air towards him, alive with crackles, hisses and spidery tendrils of pure energy. In one heart-stopping moment it slammed into Typhlosion, who was powerless to dodge it. With a flash of light almost as bright as the one from Electrode's Explosion, Typhlosion was hurled backwards and wracked with hundreds of volts of electricity at the same time. "Typhlosion, no! Come back, it was my fault again that you lost. If only I had seen what damage that one Lock On would do..." Silver sighed wistfully, recalling Typhlosion as he saw that the Fire Pokemon had fallen. Now he was more nervous than ever; he was actually losing, three Pokemon to two, and the gasps of his spectators didn't help one bit.

"What d'you think now, kid? The type advantage didn't save Typhlosion there, did it? Want to call it a day?" Surge asked, his cocky grin still plastered on his face.

"I won't leave until I've been thoroughly beaten or I've won a Thunderbadge. Gengar, come on out!" Silver replied, releasing the Ghost Pokemon, who cackled with laughter.

"There are those guts again! Well, if you won't give in, I'll have to force you into surrender. Magneton, Lock On again!" Surge said, and Silver hoped that his confidence was at last getting the best of him.

"Gengar, let's see if we can disrupt his Lock On with a bit of Hypnosis, shall we?" he asked, and Gengar's grin widened as he made the air between him and his foe ripple with Psychic energies. His eyes glared into Magneton's, commanding them, forcing them, one by one, to shut. Magneton quickly fell down to the floor with a great metallic clang, his eyes closed as he was thrown into a deep sleep. "Use Dream Eater, now!" Gengar flitted over to his opponent, almost as fast as Typhlosion was when using his Quick Attack, and he placed his hands in the middle of his foe, where all three 'heads' met. Magneton shuddered as Gengar sapped strength from all three at once, converting their stored electrical power into more palatable energy that built his own strength up. Unfortunately, before he could thoroughly defeat Magneton, the Electric Pokemon woke up and rose again into the air, jolting Gengar loose with several bolts of electricity to dislodge him.

"That's right, Magneton! Typhlosion was just an appetiser for the main course, right?" Surge said, and Magneton crackled his assent.

"What?! Right, that's it. If you want a main course, here's a nice juicy Shadow Ball, with my compliments," Silver said angrily, and Gengar leapt up, hurling his dark orb at Magneton with undisguised glee. Before Magneton could pull off any more aerial manoeuvres, the Shadow Ball slammed into him, knocking him out of the sky as it hammered away the last of his strength.

"Good work, Magneton. You took down Typhlosion and made Johto boy angry. Electabuzz, show the kid how we really do things in the Vermilion City Gym!" Surge released an almost tiger-like Pokemon, who beat his chest with fists that crackled with power. Silver breathed deeply as he sought to control his temper; he was letting Surge get under his skin like no other foe before him, apart from Gold, perhaps. He needed a clear head if he wanted to win.

"Gengar, let's focus. Well done on taking down Magneton, but I've heard that Electabuzz is dangerous," he finally said, and Gengar nodded, poised in front of him and awaiting orders.

"Electabuzz, Thunderpunch!" Surge said portentously, and Electabuzz dashed forwards, raising a fist that glowed with an aura of electrical power.

"Gengar, Night Shade," Silver countered, and black beams of energy blasted from Gengar's eyes towards his charging foe. Electabuzz, however, had lowered his fist at just the right time, and instead of pounding against Electabuzz himself the dark bolts slammed against his electricity-infused knuckles. Electabuzz was forced to stop in his tracks, but he gradually staggered forwards, pushing with all of his might against the Night Shade whilst Gengar merely stood there in silence. "Gengar, jump over Electabuzz!" Silver said, when Electabuzz was about two feet away from the Ghost Pokemon; Gengar stopped his Night Shade and leapt above the thunder-soaked fist that slammed through thin air, landing behind Electabuzz and ready to strike back.

"Electabuzz, Light Screen!" Surge shouted, at the same time that Silver cried,

"Gengar, Shadow Ball!" Electabuzz pivoted and created a shimmering panel in front of him that just managed to deflect the Shadow Ball before impact. Gengar stood there, looking for Silver to guidance as the Light Screen remained up, an impenetrable yet transparent barrier.

"Electabuzz, we've built up fortifications! Show him some Thunder!" Surge ordered, clearly loving what he was doing. Perhaps it reminded him of his happy times as a soldier. Behind his protection, Electabuzz glowed with power, and both Gengar and Silver knew from experience that Thunder was nothing to laugh off.

"Gengar, run up to the Light Screen! Press yourself against it!" Silver said, and Gengar danced over, avoiding some preliminary bolts on the way, and soon he was flat against the glassy sheet, where Electabuzz's Thunder couldn't reach him.

"Electabuzz, energise your Light Screen!" Surge commanded. Silver didn't know exactly what he meant, but he knew it wouldn't help Gengar's situation in any way.

"Gengar, get away from there! And try a Shadow Ball, to see how tough that Light Screen is!" he added, and Gengar threw himself away from the Light Screen just in time; it rippled and glowed as Electabuzz pumped it full of volts, creating a stunning electrical sheet. Gengar's Shadow Ball created a huge flash of light as it exploded against it. "Gengar, close your eyes! Keep throwing Shadow Balls, and try to get in closer, if you can!" Silver ordered. It was a complex plan, and he wasn't sure it would work, but if it did bear fruit Gengar would be in a great position. Fortunately, Lt. Surge seemed to be wrong-footed, and waited to see what Gengar would do as Electabuzz continued to flood his Light Screen with power – as well as shooting whatever bolts he could spare at Gengar, of course. Gengar didn't look thrilled at the idea of closing his eyes against such a barrage, but he did as he was told and lobbed as many Shadow Balls as he could at the Light Screen, whilst edging around the barrier as best he could. Lt. Surge cursed as he saw Silver's plan several seconds too late; the flashes that the Shadow Balls produced on contact with the electrified Light Screen spoiled Electabuzz's aim, blinded him and allowed Gengar to sneak around to his foe's unprotected back.

"Electabuzz, we've been outmanoeuvred! About turn and face your enemy!" Surge barked fiercely, and Electabuzz let the electricity die down, turning on the spot to see Gengar waiting there.

"Gengar, Night Shade!" Silver spluttered as fast as he could, tripping over his words, but Gengar guessed his intent and blasted Electabuzz backwards into his own Light Screen, trapping him up against it like a fly on flypaper as he pounded him with beams of darkness.

"Electabuzz, use Quick Attack to dodge! Let the Light Screen drop!" Surge ordered; the Light Screen disappeared instantly and Electabuzz was thrown backwards off his feet as Gengar's Night Shade continued to pummel him; however, he used the momentum to start dodging around incredibly fast. The familiar silver trail glowed behind him and Gengar gave up trying to hit him; the Quick Attack couldn't hurt him, anyway, so he just had to wait for Electabuzz to tire out. "Build up another Thunder as you run! Take your time, Gengar's going nowhere," Electabuzz began to glow and crackle slightly as he inventively used the static created by his Quick Attack to power up another Thunder.

"Gengar, get ready. Try and slow him down with a wave of Hypnosis," Silver said worriedly. He knew things weren't looking good, but he had saved worse situations before. He just couldn't remember exactly when at this point in time. Gengar stretched the range of his Hypnosis to its limits as he tried to force Electabuzz to make one mistake; at his speed, slowing down or being distracted for a second could result in a damaging trip or even losing control of his amassed electrical energy. Electabuzz, it seemed, was going altogether too fast if anything, and by his own volition he darted in towards Gengar to deliver a blisteringly high-voltage tackle; in a flash of bright light, Gengar was slammed to the floor. Electabuzz stood over him triumphantly, still pounding the writhing Ghost with energy until Gengar gave up. Electabuzz beat his chest with his fists again as Silver recalled his Pokemon. "That was really good, Gengar. You really weakened Electabuzz. Umbreon, you're my last hope!" The feline-like Dark Pokemon stood opposite Electabuzz readily, and Silver knew that if anyone could be the downfall of such a creature it was the ever-determined and calm Umbreon.

"Electabuzz, win this for me! Thunder!" Surge shouted, sensing victory. Silver knew that Umbreon had to overcome both Electabuzz and Raichu, but he hoped that Umbreon's training had paid off, as well as Gengar's earlier efforts.

"Umbreon, Faint Attack!" Silver countered, and Umbreon disappeared as the Thunder attack slammed into the place where he had stood a second before. Electabuzz just had time to look surprised before Umbreon hit him from behind, making him stumble as he cut off his electrical attack.

"Electabuzz, Quick Attack!" Surge commanded.

"Umbreon, counter with your Quick Attack!" Silver riposted, and the tired Electabuzz was completely outstripped by Umbreon's speed and agility. It only took one precise hit to knock Electabuzz cleanly off his feet, and it took the Electric Pokemon a second or two to get up.

"Electabuzz, come on! Get up!" Surge snarled, and eventually Electabuzz climbed back up, swaying slightly. It was at that point that Silver ordered,

"Umbreon, let's finish this with a Take Down!" Umbreon built up some speed, and slammed into Electabuzz in a bone-shaking double-edged ram. Electabuzz rolled forwards and slumped in defeat, unwilling to get up and suffer more punishment.

"Electabuzz, return. So it's going right down to the wire, huh? Well, Raichu, I don't quite think Umbreon's ready for this, do you?" Surge said with a slight sneer, and Raichu clenched his fists and smirked, charging himself up as his tail whipped from side to side.

"Raichu may be strong, but I'm betting he doesn't have your skill, Umbreon. We can still win this and have strength left to spare," Silver encouraged, and luckily nobody from the sidelines added their own oaths to disrupt his attention.

"Raichu, give Umbreon a Thunder Wave to think about. That should make our job easier, right?" Raichu only took a second to gather the necessary power; Surge had obviously charged his Pokemon up prior to the battle.

"Umbreon, Quick Attack! We can't get hit by that Thunder Wave, or you'll get Paralysed," Silver warned, and Umbreon sped around the stadium, jumping and changing direction with lightning swiftness. Silver could only stand and admire Umbreon's agility at a time like this, but unfortunately Raichu cottoned on quickly and stopped his barrage, conserving his power for attacks that would actually hit.

"Alright, Raichu, show him your own Quick Attack!" Surge said unexpectedly, and Raichu mirrored Umbreon, going down on all fours and darting around as he tried to catch his elusive prey. Silver held his breath as the two of them flitted across the battle-field; Raichu trying to slam into Umbreon, and Umbreon doing his best to get away. It was like watching two graceful dancers trying to outperform each other. Eventually, however, Raichu managed to whip his tail around, and Umbreon tripped over the cable-like appendage. He fell forwards head-first onto the wooden floor, and Raichu continued the job by ramming him viciously. Umbreon slid helplessly over the polished floor, but unsteadily got to his feet as soon as he stopped in front of Silver.

"Umbreon, are you OK?" Silver asked, and Umbreon nodded. He had stopped shaking and was focused once more, but Silver knew that he would do best not to test Umbreon's endurance too much.

"Raichu, good! Thunder Wave, to keep that little guy still!" Raichu tried to zap Umbreon with a blast of Paralysing energy again, barely blinking as he discharged a dangerous amount of volts.

"Umbreon, Faint Attack! It's time to fight back!" Silver said, and Umbreon disappeared, letting the Thunder Wave sputter into nonexistence on the wooden floor. Before Raichu could react, Umbreon crashed into him from behind; the Dark Pokemon had learnt quickly that Raichu's speed was not to be underestimated and attacked as soon as possible. "Good! Now, Bite that tail!" Silver continued. As Raichu whipped around to deal with his foe, Umbreon snapped his teeth shut on Raichu's tail, causing the electric mouse to squeal in pain.

"Raichu, your tail's a conductor! Zap Umbreon off there and finish him with a Thunderbolt!" Surge ordered, and Silver knew that the kid gloves were off. Now that Raichu was using harming electrical attacks rather than seeking to stop Umbreon in his tracks showed that Surge knew Silver was a threat. Whether this was good or bad was debatable.

"Umbreon, get away from him!" Silver cried, and Umbreon threw himself backwards just as Raichu glowed with electricity. Then Raichu turned around and blasted him with a super-powerful bolt of lightning; or he would have done, if Umbreon hadn't jumped aside at the last moment on Silver's instruction. Silver himself knew that he would have to get in some blows himself, or Raichu would merely keep discharging Thunderbolts which would eventually hit home. "Keep up the dodges, Umbreon!" Silver encouraged, and Umbreon was forced into utilising all the agility he had to evade Raichu's unwavering barrage.

"Raichu, Quick Attack!" Surge suddenly said, and Raichu charged forwards, catching Umbreon unawares. It took longer than ever for Umbreon to get up, but he was still focused on Raichu's smirking face with steely determination.

"Umbreon, hit back with a Take Down!" Silver retorted, and Umbreon dashed forwards and collided with Raichu, hurling him backwards.

"Raichu, Thunder!" Surge said, and Silver wiped his forehead as he realised he was sweating. This was it. One Thunder on target, and Umbreon was finished.

"Umbreon, Faint Atack!" Silver cried, and Umbreon disappeared just in time as a huge bolt of raw electrical power scorched the stadium floor. The Dark Pokemon lanced in from the side and delivered a ringing head-butt before launching into a necessary Quick Attack dodge; half a dozen bolts of lightning were emanating from the enraged enemy as he used all of his incredible power in an attempt to swat the annoying fly that was Umbreon.

"Keep it up, Raichu! Blast him like we blasted out enemies on the battlefront!" Surge ordered, and Raichu's face screwed up in concentration as he tried to encase the stadium in a web of lightning.

"Umbreon, Take Down! Hit him now and he'll be out of it!" Silver said, his voice rising with nervousness. He could see that Surge's cockiness had gotten the better of him again, and he was forcing too much power out of Raichu. Now was the ideal time for a battle-winning attack, and he opted for the strongest one in Umbreon's arsenal. Umbreon raced forwards into the attack, and it looked to be a clean hit... but Raichu managed to redirect one of his Thunder bolts, and the edge of it nicked the leaping Dark Pokemon. Umbreon was lit up ethereally as it flashed yellow, but he shut his eyes and continued, using all the momentum he could to batter Raichu with his own pain-wracked body. Both Pokemon were entangled with one another as Raichu was thrown backwards, his Thunder dying out instantly on impact. Both Pokemon looked like they had fainted, with Umbreon sprawled helplessly on top of the dazed Raichu. "Umbreon, please! Try and get up!" Silver pleaded.

"Raichu, show them the power of a real battle-hardened Pokemon!" Surge ordered. The Pokemon managed to separate from each other, dragging themselves a safe distance away from their foes before trying to get to their feet. Raichu got up first, and seemed to stand a lot stronger than Umbreon, whose legs were shaking and who seemed seconds away from crumpling. However, the same smug expression on his face, Raichu keeled over backwards and his eyes glazed over. He had pushed himself too hard for his master, and Umbreon was the lone survivor. There was silence for a second as Umbreon trembled, then Lt. Surge recalled his Pokemon.

"Raichu, you did well. I shouldn't have made you work as hard as I did; I guess I just wanted to show the kid what you could do when you wanted to,"

"Umbreon, return. That was amazing. I thought we were finished there," Silver laughed nervously as he wasted no time in recalling the battered Umbreon. Lt. Surge gazed over at the defiant Silver and eventually pulled a badge from his pocket, but before he could approach there was an outbreak of whooping and cheering from the sidelines. Suddenly the stadium was invaded by Silver's fans, who crowded around him and patted him on the back.

"That was the best battle I've ever seen," said one Pokemaniac.

"Good show, my boy!" the Chairman said happily, clapping Silver on the shoulder as Togetic landed on the other. Through the throng emerged the two people he really wanted to see; Scott and Crystal. Both were silent for a moment, before Scott applauded in admiration and Crystal hurled herself into an embrace. The Gym rang with applause as the Fan Club members took it up, and even Lt. Surge was clapping as he pushed aside the crowd non-too-gently.

"Here's your Thunderbadge, kid. You deserve it," He held out the shiny Thunderbadge and Silver pinned it onto his jacket triumphantly.

"I won a Thunderbadge!" he cried, and Tyrogue jumped up and punched the air with a cry of,

"Tyrogue!"

"Now you're on easy street, Silver! The next Gym Leader is called Erika, and she trains Grass types," Scott told him happily.

"Grass types? Typhlosion and Noctowl can sweep the board, then," Silver said happily. And, breaking free of the crowd that sought to waylay him with their own thoughts on his battle, Silver, Crystal and Scott left the Vermilion City Gym together to heal and praise a very shell-shocked Umbreon.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 12**

"Diglett's Cave is just around the corner. Apparently, it was created entirely by Digletts and Dugtrios," Crystal said seriously as she dragged Silver along.

"I'd guessed that for myself, thanks. Any idea where it leads to?" Silver replied as he stumbled along after her. She flashed him a devilish grin.

"Maybe we can find out," she said. They were leaving Vermilion City behind and were heading towards Lavender Town after Silver's Gym battle against Lt. Surge. It had taken a while for everyone to recover, especially Umbreon, but after some intensive care from the ever-present nurse all of his Pokemon were back to their normal physical fitness. Silver wouldn't normally have gone to Lavender Town, as it would have been quicker merely to cut through Saffron City and go straight to Celadon City for his next Gym battle, but he knew Crystal wanted to go so he relented with the bare minimum of whining. Now, it seemed, they were heading to check out the nearby Diglett's Cave, which Crystal read about in a leaflet she had found in the Pokemon Centre. She was newly kitted out with the contents of her Pokemon Fan Club membership pack: a badge proclaiming their logo which, in Silver's opinion, was needlessly large and brightly coloured; a baseball cap, also with the logo, that she had forced Tyrogue to wear, as she still wore her Pewter City Museum of Science one, and she didn't dare put it on Heracross; a backpack which put Silver's travel-worn one to shame; and finally a booklet on the history of the club, which contained a certificate of membership.

"I'll look at the Pokegear and see where Diglett's Cave leads. We don't want to end up in Pewter City or somewhere, do we?" Silver mumbled, looking at the device on his wrist and quickly searching for Diglett's Cave.

"Er... Silver, I don't know whether we'll be able to go after all," Crystal said in a worried tone of voice.

"Oh, it's nice of you, but I can wait for my Gym battle. I'm willing to go to Lavender Town with you... Oof!" Still looking down at his Pokegear, he collided with something large and spongy, and was knocked backwards off his feet. Getting groggily back up, he looked forward to see that the route ahead was completely blocked by a gigantic Pokemon. "What in Wobbuffet's name is that?" he whispered over the rumbling snores of the beast, poking its round foot gingerly. Crystal looked at its cream-coloured belly, and then the rest of its green skin, then stepped backwards and made a frame out of her hands as if she was a photographer looking for the perfect shot. Tyrogue imitated her and almost poked himself in the eye accidentally.

"I think it's a Snorlax. A massive lump that just eats and sleeps," she said critically, seeing no way past.

"I know a few people like that myself. How are we going to get past?" Silver asked.

"Battle it? I don't know whether it will want to fight us, but I think our Pokemon can give him a pretty good wake up call," Crystal suggested.

"Good idea. Let's see... Gengar, you're perfect! Try a Dream Eater and see if big old Snorlax can sleep through it," Silver released Gengar, who leapt upwards onto his foe's round belly and disappeared from view. After a few moments, Snorlax gave a great thunderous growl and started to stir. Gengar jumped back down off his perch, looking slightly shaken as the beast woke up, rubbing its head and yawning. It was larger than any Pokemon Silver had ever seen, and it was certainly intimidating as its mouth opened wide, displaying some sharp teeth. "Well done, Gengar. Maybe he'll get out of our way now," Silver returned Gengar and waited for Snorlax to shift his huge bulk out of the way. However, Snorlax merely sat there like a big baby, staring down at the newcomers with a blank expression on his face.

"Gengar was a good idea, but I think we need a bit more of a direct approach. Tyrogue, Hi-Jump Kick!" Crystal said enthusiastically, knowing that for once she would have the type advantage. Tyrogue got a short run-up, then jumped with his leg outstretched for a super-powered kick. His expression changed from determined to shocked as his foot sank into Snorlax's belly, then was bounced back out again with such force that he sailed right back over Crystal's head. "OK, if he's determined to play hard. Lure Ball, go! Catch me a Snorlax!" Crystal cried, hurling the Pokeball Kurt had given to her all that time ago. It bounced off Snorlax's stomach in the same way that Tyrogue had, ricocheting back and smacking Crystal hard in the face. As it dropped to the floor, her snarling face had a big, round, red mark beaten onto it.

"You didn't really expect that to work, did you? Lure Balls are for Pokemon fished up by fishing rods," Silver pointed out, and narrowly ducked as the Lure Ball was thrown at him instead of Snorlax.

"Let's see if Snorlax is still so eager to sit there after this! Heracross, I choose you!" Crystal cried, and Silver winced. This was a recipe for disaster; an immovable rubber ball against the fury of the much smaller and crazier Heracross. The Bug Pokemon emerged and hissed its challenge at Snorlax, flexing its thin wings experimentally. "Heracross, teach Snorlax a lesson for me!" Crystal ordered, and Heracross charged forwards, his horn glowing. Silver prepared to duck as Heracross got bounced back, but before launching his attack the Bug Pokemon buzzed upwards, slamming his Megahorn right between Snorlax's eyes. Snorlax recoiled for the first time, his paws clutching his aching face as Heracross landed back in front of Crystal. Before Crystal could say another word, Heracross attacked again, and Snorlax's face took a flurry of punches this time as the Bug Pokemon unleashed his Fury Attack. "Heracross..." Crystal whined, but Heracross ignored her as Snorlax finally struck back. The beast's arm glowed as it whacked Heracross away with a vicious Pound attack before hefting himself onto his feet.

"Now we're getting somewhere. Now, who shall I choose..." Silver said, but before he could select a Pokemon Crystal had tackled him and pushed him out of the way of an earth-shaking Body Slam from their gargantuan foe.

"Nobody does that to Silver whilst I'm around!" Crystal jumped to her feet and pointed accusingly at Snorlax. "Heracross, hit Snorlax as hard as you can!" Heracross buzzed forwards and somehow managed to get his horn underneath Snorlax to try and flip him over; however, after a moment or two of silence, Heracross' eyes widened in pain and he froze as if paralysed, whereas Snorlax merely stood there.

"Looks like Heracross' horn has finally met its match. Typhlosion, I choose you!" Silver cried, releasing the Fire Pokemon as Heracross continued to struggle against Snorlax's huge weight.

"Heracross, get away from there!" Crystal ordered as she saw the cavalry arrive, but Heracross predictably didn't take in a single word.

"Typhlosion, Flamethrower! But aim high. Try not to hit Heracross," Silver advised, and Typhlosion let loose a red-hot wave of glowing fire which scorched Snorlax's chest and forced him backwards. As he struggled with his footing, Heracross took his chance, and with one huge effort he righted himself, forcing Snorlax off his feet as Heracross' horn swept his legs out from under him.

"Nice job, Heracross!" Crystal said, and Heracross spreads his arms and hissed in victory.

"Typhlosion, keep up that Flamethrower!" Silver said, and Snorlax bellowed angrily as the Flamethrower continued to sear him, and he quickly got to his feet and lumbered off in defeat. The ground shook as his heavy footfalls began to recede, and he moved off to the east back to wherever he called home. Silver and Crystal gave each other a high-five in victory.

"Yeah! We really showed him!" Crystal said enthusiastically.

"Heracross and Typhlosion, you were both great. And thanks for saving me, Crystal; without you, I'd be as flat as a pancake," Silver admitted. Crystal beamed and put her arm in his as they walked through the gap where Snorlax had lain.

"That's what friends are for, right? Heracross, come back. I knew you could do it," she said, recalling Heracross as Silver pulled back Typhlosion. Togetic squeaked in happiness and hopped from its 'mother' to its 'father' as they walked towards Diglett's Cave.

"It's a lot bigger than I expected. I can't really believe that Digletts dug it," Silver said as they looked at the huge tunnel that led into the earth.

"Shall we go and look around? Maybe I can catch myself a Diglett," Crystal said, and dragged Silver into the cave-mouth excitedly.

"You've already got a new Heracross, and now you want a Diglett too?" Silver said, stunned, as he released Typhlosion again to provide some light.

"Well, I can't be a Pokemon Champion's loyal friend and assistant with only two Pokemon, can I? Besides, Heracross isn't really mine. He does things his own way. I just give the illusion of control,"

"Not a very believable illusion, if you ask me," Silver joked. "Don't worry, Crystal, you'll be able to control him in no time. I know you can do it,"

"Thank you, Silver, but after watching Heracross topple Snorlax and remembering how good you and Eevee were together, I don't know whether I want to. Hey look, a Diglett! Isn't it cute!" she suddenly let go of Silver and dragged Typhlosion over to cast light on a small, brown, almost cylindrical Pokemon with a dome-shaped head.

"Wow, that's small. It's even harder to believe that Digletts dug this tunnel all by themselves," Silver said, walking over for a closer look.

"Mmm. On second thoughts, I don't think Diglett's quite right for my team. He can't lift weights without arms, or run without legs, and it doesn't help that he's not a Fighting type,"

"So really he's the exact opposite of what you want on your team. He may not be able to run or lift weights, but he sure can dig for Johto," Silver indicated the wide, earthy tunnel they stood in and Diglett squeaked with pride. "I think Snorlax might be good for your team, though. He could do with some exercise, after all,"

"That's for sure. Well, I'm really glad we came here, aren't you? It just shows you that with all of our digging machines and tools, we're still second-rate compared to Pokemon," Crystal said, and Tyrogue leapt up and punched the air.

"Tyrogue!" he cried happily.

"That's really insightful, Crystal. In your spare time when you become a Fighting Pokemon Master, you could write best-selling poetry,"

"I could, couldn't I? Crystal's Book of Pokemon Verse... as seen in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn..." she continued on as they made their way out of the cave and Typhlosion was once again returned, looking disgruntled as he went back and forth from his Pokeball.

"According to the Pokegear, the quickest way to Lavender Town is to go east, then north up a long boardwalk route that's suspended over the sea," Silver said, impressed by the amount of detail his device gave him.

"East it is, then! Let's go, Tyrogue!" Crystal and Tyrogue marched forwards, looking weirdly similar in their baseball caps and identical strides, which made Silver almost burst out laughing after a quick glance at Togetic's face.

"Come on, Togetic. We don't want to let them get into trouble without us there," he said, running after them. They walked for a while, contemplating Diglett's cave and the battle with Snorlax, until Crystal suddenly shouted,

"I can hear the waves ahead of us! Let's go!" Her and Tyrogue sped up again, and Silver stumbled after them as he looked at the Pokegear to see what awaited them in Lavender Town.

"Hey, listen to this, Crystal! There's Pokemon House, the residence of some guy called Mr. Fuji, the Radio Tower, and... oof!" he slammed into something horribly familiar and suddenly heard Crystal groan from beside him as she stopped in her tracks. Lying there on the pivotal crossroads was none other than Snorlax, slumbering like a baby as if their battle had never happened. Both Silver and Crystal slapped their foreheads, and Tyrogue imitated them whilst Togetic squeaked with barely-contained laughter.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 13**

"Just our luck. We face a Pokemon the size and build of a roadblock twice in one day," Silver said bitterly as he and Crystal sat on the grass next to Snorlax. They took their opportunity to eat some lunch before tackling the beast again, although Heracross seemed unable to wait and had to be restrained several times.

"Well, it's just another chance for me to catch it, isn't it? We always have to look for a silver lining," Crystal said after swallowing her mouthful of cookie.

"Catch it? It'll eat us out of house and home in about an hour! When it wakes up, of course..." Silver said indignantly, tapping Snorlax's foot to demonstrate his point; the gigantic Pokemon didn't even notice, he was in such a deep slumber.

"But it does seem powerful, and we won't have to worry about running into it again. Anyway, we need to talk tactics, whether I'm going to catch it or not. Do you think we should battle it again, or just try and get past it?" Crystal asked, one hand clutching Heracross' horn to ensure that he didn't escape.

"I'm not sure. It doesn't mean any harm, so we shouldn't really try and make it faint. Then again, none of our Pokemon are really strong enough to shift him out of the way when he's lying like that," They sat in silence for a few minutes, Silver drinking some of his mum's famous lemonade, and he spluttered and choked as Crystal suddenly thumped him on the back.

"I've got it! Your Pokegear is tuned into the radio, right? Well, there's probably a tune somewhere on there that can wake old Snorlax up. I've heard that music from a special flute can wake any sleeping Pokemon," she said, and Silver could almost envision a light-bulb flashing above her head as the brainwave hit her. Silver tapped several buttons on his Pokegear, then twiddled a dial on the side to tune into different stations. There were the usual ones; Professor Oak's Pokemon Talk, the Lucky Number Show, the Pokemon Music Channel... and suddenly a haunting flute melody completely at odds with anything else. The Pokemon forgot about their food for an instant and Heracross even forgot to try and get at Snorlax as they all turned to look at Silver; or, more precisely, Silver's Pokegear. Togetic squeaked and chirped happily on his shoulder and Tyrogue jumped and punched the air with even more enthusiasm than usual.

"I think we've found it. It's pretty useful, when you think about it; if you played it in battle, it would wake up your Pokemon and save them from stuff like Hypnosis," Silver said, impressed, as Snorlax's feet began to twitch.

"Just put the Pokegear down beside Snorlax and retreat," Crystal advised, and Silver unstrapped it from his wrist and placed it as close to Snorlax's head as he could before creeping back to where his Pokemon and Crystal waited. For a brief moment, nothing happened, but suddenly Snorlax rose up into a sitting position, yawning so loudly that they had to cover their ears. Snorlax stretched and got to his feet, scratching his head absent-mindedly, before seeing his tormentors from before. He bellowed and lumbered in to the attack, raising his clawed arms and opening his wide mouth to issue an ear-shaking challenge.

"Scatter!" Silver cried, and everyone split up as Snorlax rumbled towards them. The sight of the lumbering creature would have been hilarious if not for the situation, but Silver knew that one Body Slam from the beast was nothing to laugh about. He peeked out from his safe place in a nearby bush to see if everyone else had escaped, wiping his forehead. Crystal, Tyrogue and Politoed were haring it towards the gap which Snorlax had vacated in his grumpy rage, eager to get through once and for all. Crystal had luckily managed to return Heracross on the way and stopped him getting flattened. Noctowl and Gengar were up in a tree, whereas Typhlosion and Umbreon were nowhere to be seen; probably hidden in a bush, like him. Togetic was still firmly on his shoulder, and last but not least was Wobbuffet. The Psychic Pokemon was standing stock-still where he was, a hesitant expression on his face as Snorlax towered above him, and he seemed to be bracing himself for an undoubtedly massive impact. "Wobbuffet, no! Get out of there!" Silver cried, but it was too late; Snorlax flopped forwards and Body Slammed the hapless creature with the force of his immense weight behind him. However, as Snorlax attacked, he seemed to be lifted back up into the air and hurled away with so much force that he flew through the air, landing with an incredible splash in the sea close by and sending up a spout of water. Silver dashed from his hiding place and ran over to Wobbuffet, who had left an imprint in the ground after suffering Snorlax's attack. As Silver approached, he slapped his forehead and cried,

"Wooooooooobuffet!" At this, the rest of his Pokemon emerged, and Crystal and Tyrogue retraced their steps to see what the commotion was about. The two of them, as well as the Politoed with them, were sopping wet from the tidal wave created by Snorlax's fall into the water, but whilst Politoed looked perfectly happy Crystal was lamenting her sodden clothes and hair. Tyrogue merely punched the air with happiness as he saw that Wobbuffet was OK.

"What happened?" Crystal asked, shivering as she spat out some sea water.

"Wobbuffet happened. Snorlax slammed him and he just bounced it right back," Silver said, as amazed as the rest of them as he patted Wobbuffet gratefully on the head. "Where's our big, slumbering baby?"

"Snorlax just swam off when he finally surfaced. I don't blame him; it must be a real bruise to the ego to be beaten by a creature that's about a thousandth of your weight. But that's not the problem! Look at me, I'm soaking!" she moaned.

"Typhlosion, could you warm Crystal up?" Silver asked, and Typhlosion bounded over, lying down next to Crystal and using the intense heat of his own body to dry her off.

"Thanks, Typhlosion. You're a lifesaver. And Wobbuffet is once again a hero," Crystal sighed with happiness as Typhlosion warmed her, and she looked at Wobbuffet with dubious pride.

"I know. We were lucky the day I caught him back in Dark Cave, I can tell you," Silver confessed, reminiscing about the several times that Wobbuffet had managed to win him a battle. He may not be the life and soul of the party, but he was as valuable and trusted a member of Silver's party as any of the others. They waited for a while, their toes dipped into the sea from their position on the boardwalk, until Crystal was dry and warm enough to continue. Even her baseball cap had been wrung out and dried. Silver recalled all of his Pokemon apart from Politoed, who swam through the sea alongside them as they walked, because the boardwalk was quite narrow, but he did enjoy watching Crystal's expectant face as he read out the landmarks on offer in Lavender Town. He had almost forgotten about his Pokegear and had to run back and get it after Crystal asked why he wasn't wearing it, and after finding it thankfully unharmed by its proximity to Snorlax he had searched on the map for their next destination.

"Pokemon House sounds quite spooky if you ask me. It's basically a graveyard for Pokemon, isn't it? So sad..." Crystal mused with a sigh. Silver didn't like to think what he would feel like if one of his Pokemon passed on; he knew he would probably never recover, they were all so close.

"I think we should visit anyway. It's a landmark, after all, and we can pay our respects there. It could be a nice, peaceful way to spend the day. And after all we've been through together, I think we deserve some peace," he said.

"We need to visit the Radio Tower of Kanto, as well. I can buy you another badge!" Crystal said earnestly, and luckily she missed Togetic's quiet laugh as he looked at Silver's expression. Silver looked at his jacket, which was now festooned with no less than fourteen badges; his eleven Gym badges from Kanto and Johto, the Master Ball badge Chikorita had given to him on the day that he set out on his journey, the Goldenrod Radio Tower badge ('I Rode the Waves at Goldenrod Radio Station!') and the Pewter City Museum of Science one. Soon there wouldn't be enough room for any more. Still, he could pin it to his baseball cap if things got desperate. The boardwalk trail was a lot more interesting than they had predicted; they could see Water Pokemon like Magikarp swimming in the shallows close by, there were several signs especially for Trainers that gave useful information, and they passed several jovial fishermen, even pausing once to see one reel in a huge Seaking. Politoed enjoyed swimming in the cool, clean waters, as he so rarely got to swim anywhere, and amused them all by spraying thin jets of water into the air like a fountain as he floated along on his belly. Silver released Noctowl, who flew above them on the turbulent yet crisp sea air, and Crystal released Heracross, who buzzed over the water and eventually ended up getting into a fight with a swimming Goldeen. That same Goldeen was sent skimming over the water several seconds later as Heracross hissed happily with victory, and Crystal dragged him onto the boardwalk so he could walk in front of her and stay out of trouble. When they reached Lavender Town, they were feeling light-hearted and cheerful, but the sombre mood of the town made them almost reluctant to show it. The town was small and hushed, with people seeming reluctant to smile as they went about their daily business. The Radio Tower loomed up in the distance, by far the biggest landmark, and Silver couldn't imagine why they had chosen such a reverential and quiet place to build it. 'If this town had its own music,' he thought as he and Crystal walked in silence to the Pokemon Centre, looking in passing at the antiquated architecture, 'It would probably be dreary and haunting.'.

"It's pretty... well, I don't like to use the word 'weird', but..." Silver trailed off as they sat down on Silver's bed, the Pokemon having been given to the nurse for a check-up and he and Crystal having been allocated adjoining rooms.

"I know what you mean," Crystal said sympathetically. "After that nice walk, and knowing it had a Radio Tower, I think we were expecting it to be a bit livelier,"

"What's that you've got there?" Silver asked idly, breaking the awkward silence and pointing to a sheaf of paper in her hand.

"Pamphlet on what to do here. Shall we read it?" Silver shrugged and nodded, and Crystal opened up the pamphlet for them both to scan. A lot of it was written in traditional-looking lettering, and the colours were drab and solemn as they depicted scenes of beauty, and yet sadness. The part detailing Pokemon House was particularly moving, written by the owner, Mr Fuji, who took in abandoned Pokemon as well as the graves of those who died. The Radio Tower, it transpired, was rather disturbingly a renovated Pokemon Tower, where the graves of Pokemon used to reside and where Ghost Pokemon thrived in their dozens. Why they had built a Radio Tower on this sacred site baffled Silver, but it was probably due to monetary reasons more than anything else. A depressing portrait was painted; Mr. Fuji had battled against the renovations, but the lone civilian could never hope to triumph against a big company with so much money. Eventually, when they could bear no more misery, they cast the pamphlet aside, and Crystal said, "That's one leaflet I won't keep for my collection. I think for the first time in my life reading a pamphlet has left me more depressed than I was beforehand. Well, I won't be going to the Radio Tower, at any rate,"

"Really? Why not?" Silver asked. She had already decided to skip one landmark back when they passed the Day Care Centre, and now she wanted to bypass another. Crystal gave him a look of bewilderment.

"Why not? Silver, they built it over a graveyard, where loads of poor Pokemon have been laid to rest. My morals won't let me enter such a monument to corporate greed and insensitivity," Silver mulled over her words, and found that he agreed. The Radio Tower company had been wrong to build over a grave site, no matter how much they thought they might enrich the lives of Kanto's populace. It made him feel faintly queasy to think of faceless removal men wrenching loose the gravestones and dumping them outside Mr. Fuji's house uncaringly.

"I agree. Let's go to Mr. Fuji's house and pay our respects to all of those poor, loyal Pokemon who've met their end," Silver said, and Crystal smiled at him in support.

"You're a sensitive person, aren't you, Silver? Just like me. We're a good team, you and me. Let's go," They left the Pokemon Centre truly alone for once, with Tyrogue and Togetic both being checked up on by the nurses, and walked to Pokemon House, which was the extension on Mr. Fuji's home which housed the graves. There were seemingly hundreds of the stones in varying degrees of decay, all inscribed with loving words from their Trainers. 'I love you, Totodile. Rest in peace.' 'I'll never forget you, Sparky.' 'My best friend, my strongest warrior, rest easy now Arcanine. You were the best.' And, right in a corner, was a tiny, crumbled gravestone which was little more than a rock with words carved onto it. 'Mother Marowak – Let your spirit rest. You have been avenged. Red.' Silver traced the letters of the final word and looked up at Crystal.

"Red? _The_ Red? Champion Red?" he whispered, recalling vividly the awesomely strong Trainer he had fought a few weeks ago, but which felt like years.

"I don't know how common a name Red is. But if it was the same, then he must be compassionate as well as powerful. Just like you," Crystal replied softly, and the two of them waited there in silence, in front of Mother Marowak's rock, praying silently for the souls of those who weren't lucky enough to live and breathe like they were.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 14**

The journey back to Vermilion City was a quiet affair, as both Silver and Crystal were thinking about Pokemon House. Their trek south across the boardwalk was a stark contrast to their previous trip; neither of them felt particularly happy or enthusiastic after their depressing visit to Lavender Town, after all. Their Pokemon had been fed and cared for in the Pokemon Centre, but even they had picked up on the mood and weren't at all their usual selves as they walked along in silence. Even Heracross seemed less belligerent in the gloomy atmosphere. Togetic, being able to sense people's emotions, was uncomfortable in the presence of such sadness and hopelessness, and as such did his best to cheer everyone up with one of his chirping, heart-lifting songs, a melody that expressed sadness for the deceased and yet joy for life, a life which was not well spent in gloom and despair. This made everyone feel slightly better, and once Lavender Town was completely out of sight, Crystal made the first attempt at conversation to get their mind off things.

"So... Celadon City. What's there to do there?" Silver flipped open his Pokegear and perused the map more intently than he usually would, focusing on their next destination.

"Tons. Celadon City Gym, with the Grass Gym Leader Erika, will be top of the list, of course,"

"Well, you'll be able to finish her off in a few seconds with Typhlosion. What else?"

"Only a Department Store, Celadon Mansion, the Game Corner and a famous perfume shop," Silver replied succinctly.

"Wow, we'll have to spend at least a couple of days there to do everything, then. Perhaps this Game Corner will let us in, seeing as we don't have any Psychic Pokemon anymore,"

"Wobbuffet's a Psychic type, remember. Although I don't think we can depend on him to make us rich," The two of them smiled at each other and this seemed to throw off the last of the gloom.

"Right, then. We can restock in the Department Store, as it's the biggest one in Kanto. Then we can check out the Game Corner; if it doesn't let us in, we can get a tour around Celadon Mansion. The perfume shop will be interesting to visit, too," Crystal said firmly, quickening her steps to get as far away from Lavender Town as possible.

"Sounds good. Then, the day after that, I can challenge Erika. A day of sightseeing will be good for morale," Silver agreed. It took them several more hours of travelling to finally reach Celadon City; they had to return to Vermilion City, then go north through the guard-house to Saffron City. Cutting through the outskirts of the huge town, they went through yet another guard-house to the west and Celadon City itself was soon in sight. Fortunately they didn't meet Snorlax again on the way, although as they turned each corner they half expected their way to be blocked by the sleeping creature. They also passed a Trainer or two, but neither were in the mood for battles, so they avoided eye contact as much as possible.

"I think we should go to the Game Corner first, actually. Look at our long faces; we need something to really cheer us up," Crystal said decisively as they walked down the streets of Celadon City. It was large, certainly, and definitely bustling, but unlike the swarming madness of Goldenrod City, Celadon exuded a calm, cosmopolitan air. The people shopping were polite, but went about their business as usual, and it wasn't uncommon to see people arranging flowers or sipping coffee in coffee shops.

"I like it here. It's pretty relaxing, don't you think?" Silver said as they passed a particularly ornate display of plants.

"Yes, it is nice. It reminds me of a larger version of Violet City," Crystal said fondly. Violet City was where Crystal had lived before she joined Silver on his journey, after moving from Cianwood City when she was very young.

"The Game Corner should be just here, according to the Pokegear," Silver said, pointing down a side-road. The Game Corner was relatively large, but certainly not as garish and touristy as the Goldenrod Game Corner. It seemed sombre in comparison, and although there were a variety of games available inside, it didn't have the same air of loudness or craziness. What was the same, however, was the sign that said 'No Pokemon Inside'. Tyrogue was the first to slap his forehead this time, almost knocking himself over with the force of the blow as he struggled to imitate his master.

"OK, Pokemon Mansion, here we come!" Crystal said, refusing to let her spirits get dampened by one defeat. Silver had released all of his Pokemon to join them in the tour of the city, and although Gengar had to be reined back in a couple of times, and they almost lost Wobbuffet in a crowd, all in all everyone behaved well. Crystal also let Heracross roam free, but after he punched a nearby Weepinbell and had to be pulled back by Typhlosion's Strength, with the owner berating an embarrassed Crystal, Heracross was recalled and stayed reluctantly in his Pokeball. However, Tyrogue exuded enough enthusiasm for the both of them combined, with his Pokemon Fan Club baseball cap at a jaunty angle. They stopped outside the front gates of Celadon Mansion and looked up at the building, impressed. It was tall and very elegant, clearly old and expensive. The front gardens were lavish and obviously well-tended by the huge proliferation of gardeners that lived in the city, and there were even hedges trimmed to look like various Pokemon. There was a small plaque next to the iron gate that read 'Visitors are prohibited from entering the Mansion grounds, due to an unpleasant incident involving an Eevee which was mistakenly given away by a tenant. We trust you understand.' Silver had to restrain Crystal as she lunged forwards to bang her head against a nearby brick wall in frustration.

"Is there any point in planning at all? We always seem to be caught unawares by this sort of thing," Silver said ruefully as Crystal slowly calmed down.

"Never fear! There's still two places to visit; the perfume shop and the Department Store!" Crystal replied with a note of desperation, then she added darkly, "And if they're closed, I'm going to break down the doors," Hoping that she was joking, Silver followed her down the street in search of the Department Store, where they could pick up some supplies for their journey. Togetic shuffled into a more comfortable position on his shoulder, and he said,

"I think you should fly over to your 'daddy' now. I don't want her to feel annoyed or angry, because it will spoil the experience for her," Togetic obligingly fluttered over to Crystal and landed on her shoulder, nuzzling up to her face comfortingly as Silver and his Pokemon hurried after them. "What d'you think of the city, Typhlosion? Nice, isn't it?" he asked as Typhlosion padded beside him on all fours, and the Fire Pokemon hissed enthusiastically. "Noctowl, what does it look like from up there? Can you see the Department Store ahead?" he called up to Noctowl, who hooted to the affirmative. "Great! We can have lunch there! How does that sound, Gengar?"

"Gengar!" Gengar grinned as Silver pulled him away from a woman with her back turned, stopping the Ghost from wreaking more havoc.

"Politoed, look! There's a fountain up ahead, in front of the Department Store! You can go for a swim if you want, whilst we look around," Silver suggested, and Politoed raised a clenched fist, a wide smile on his frog-like face as he laid eyes upon the huge, sparkling fountain. "Umbreon, I'll have to buy you a treat today, after you did so well against Raichu. I'll let you decide when we get there, OK?" Umbreon nodded once and continued to look calm and unruffled, although Silver knew he was pleased by the attention. He looked around and felt a nagging doubt in his mind; he had a feeling he was forgetting someone. But who? Suddenly, he almost tripped as a certain someone loomed up directly in front of him with a cry of,

"Woooooooobuffet!"

"Wobbuffet, sorry! I didn't see you there! How do you like the city? You can have a well-deserved rest here, as I've used you in the last three Gym battles," Silver said, carefully walking around Wobbuffet and taking care not to tread on the Psychic Pokemon's tail. Wobbuffet was silent in response, which Silver took to be a thank-you, and that he found the city quite acceptable. Or maybe he just never took anything in. The Department Store itself looked to be a glorified Poke-Mart, with several stories which catered for every Pokemon Trainer's needs. To Silver and Crystal's relief, it was indeed open, and even better it allowed Pokemon inside. "I'll see you later, Politoed! Have a nice long swim!" Silver called back to Politoed as he entered, watching Politoed swim in the fountain alongside a Marill.

"Silver, look at this. A floor plan," Crystal called him over to a slip of paper on the wall next to the elevator.

"OK... so we need some more food, for us and the Pokemon... luckily we don't need bandages or anything like that, you've still got the ones your parents gave you... Anything in particular you need?" Silver asked, looking at all of the different levels and what was sold on each one.

"I don't think so. Perhaps another training implement for Tyrogue, as he's been such a great friend," Crystal said, and Tyrogue jumped and punched the air happily.

"Just don't let Heracross near it. He doesn't need training anyway," Silver recommended. "You just reminded me, I need to get a treat for Umbreon too. Then, when we've finished, we can go to the rooftop cafe, can't we?"

"Good idea. Shall we split up? You can get the Pokemon food and Umbreon's treat, and I'll get our food and Tyrogue's new toy,"

"Cool. I'll meet you in the rooftop cafe in about ten minutes, then," Silver said, and headed for the stairs as Crystal got into the elevator. The Pokemon food was on the first floor, and he hoped that there were Pokemon treats there as well, so he could get everything in one go. As he entered the first floor, he was met with a dazzling array of different types of Pokemon food, from generic chunks, to cuts of meat and vegetables, to type- and even species-specific cuisine. All he needed was several paper bags and a scoop, and he was ready to go. For some reason, he really enjoyed selecting his Pokemon's food, as he had never done it in such detail before; they had been happy with the usual fare. But now, with such choice available, he realised that they had missed out on the gourmet side of Pokemon food, and was determined to right that wrong here and now. There were some charcoal-dipped chunks for Fire types, which he bought for Typhlosion; some cooked and seasoned meats that seemed almost fit for a king, never mind a Pokemon, but which he got for Umbreon to commemorate his victory; a variety of different foods for Gengar, whom he had to keep one eye on at all times to stop him grabbing and throwing the food; some very moist food for Politoed, as well as some special Water Pokemon health drink on a whim; some meat and seed lumps for Noctowl; a box of food labelled 'Tyrogue Treats'; some Protein-rich Bug food for the bulky Heracross; and last but not least, some food rich in Calcium for Wobbuffet that apparently increased a Pokemon's resilience and defensive power. "This looks good enough for me to eat, I don't know about you. I'm glad you seem to like that, Wobbuffet, because it'll help you battle as well," Silver added as he staggered towards the checkout, seeing Wobbuffet happily pop a chunk of the food into his mouth.

"OK, will you be paying by cash or by credit card?" the attendant asked from behind her desk as Silver happily plonked the paper bags down.

"By cash, I think. Here you..." Silver made to take some notes out of his backpack but his eyes then caught on the price that flashed up on the attendant's till. He mouthed it wordlessly, his eyes wide, and looked at the amount of notes in his hand pitifully. He turned and looked at his Pokemon, to break the news that they wouldn't be starting careers as Pokemon food gourmets after all, but he couldn't bear to wipe the happy smile off Wobbuffet's face and so fished out more than double the amount of money he had expected and painstakingly handed it to the cashier.

"Thank you, sir. Please enjoy your day," she said smugly, placing the notes in the till and smiling vapidly. Silver stuffed the bags of food in his backpack, muttering about piracy and extortion, and as he made his way to the elevator he knew that the first thing he had to do on leaving was phone his mother and request a transaction from the money she had saved up for him. The reason for doing so would have to conveniently slip his mind, as he didn't think she would be too happy knowing he had spent it on a bulk-load of overpriced food. Gloomily cramming himself and his Pokemon into the elevator, Gengar pressed the button and they rose steadily upwards to the rooftop cafe, where they found Crystal waiting for them in much better spirits.

"Hi, guys! Did you find everything you needed?" she beamed.

"Yes, and more besides. Here's some food for Heracross and Tyrogue," Silver muttered, taking out what he had purchased for Crystal's Pokemon and handing it over.

"'Tyrogue Treats', eh? Thanks, Silver. But did you get anything for Togetic?" Silver groaned as he realised he had forgotten about the Pokemon perched on Crystal's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll go. You can go and get us a seat," She handed over her backpack, a complicated-looking chest-expander, the plastic bag full of food she had purchased and Tyrogue before stepping into the elevator again, waving as the doors closed. Silver sighed and said,

"Come on, guys. Let's find a nice seat near the edge, so we can look down over the city," It didn't take Noctowl long to find a nice wide table, seated for ten; enough seats for Silver and Crystal's Pokemon and the humans themselves, whilst Togetic could sit on a shoulder. "Good work, Noctowl. Pick your seats, but save one close to the edge for Crystal; I think she'd like the view," In a few moments, everyone was seated; Silver himself had Noctowl to his left and a blank space for Crystal on his right. On the other side of the empty seat was Tyrogue, looking like a young boy as he sat happily in wait, and further down the table were Typhlosion and Heracross, the former keeping a close eye on the latter by Silver's demand. Umbreon fulfilled guard duty for Gengar as he sat patiently beside the Ghost, whilst Wobbuffet sat there silently as usual. Eventually Crystal made her way to her seat, her arms brimming with a huge bag of food labelled 'Togetic Mix'.

"It's full of all the essential nutrients that any good Togetic needs, and Togetic loves it, don't you?" Togetic squeaked happily both at the sceptical look on Silver's face and in confirmation of Crystal's words.

"And how much did it cost, exactly?" he asked, dreading the answer. Crystal reddened and said,

"Oh, you've saved me a seat near the edge! How thoughtful!" Silver rolled his eyes, but didn't press the issue; he didn't want Crystal to find out about his own money misdemeanours, after all. "I think we go to the buffet and collect our own food, then pay the bill at the desk," Crystal said, looking around and spotting a long table full of food for both people and Pokemon.

"Uh oh. How are we going to do this? I'll stick with Gengar and you can stick with Heracross; that way, nobody gets hurt or scared," Silver said, moving quickly to intercept Gengar as the others got to their feet. In an ungainly procession, they walked up to the buffet table and paid the cashier at the end of it before walking back to their table laden with even more food. They looked out over the city as everyone ate.

"There's the Gym. We've probably got time to go today, if you want to," Crystal proposed.

"Maybe. I really wanted a day of relaxation first, though. There's the perfume shop to visit yet," Silver reminded her. "Any idea where it is?"

"Good point. We should go to the Pokemon Centre and check in, and read up on a few leaflets whilst our Pokemon relax," Crystal said, swallowing some food.

"Sounds good. Enjoying your food, everyone?" Silver called, and the Pokemon responded happily in their usual cacophony. Tyrogue punched the air in silence as he chewed a sandwich contentedly. When they had eaten, they made their way back down to the ground floor, then strolled the streets again in search of the Pokemon Centre. When they finally found it, Silver relaxed on a deck-chair in the garden, watching the Pokemon playing and laughing to himself as Typhlosion finally gave in to Heracross and engaged him in a mock battle. Crystal was handling the checking in and leaflet-finding, and when she finally dragged another deck-chair over to sit beside Silver she was holding two keys and several pieces of paper.

"Here's one about the Gym for you, and several others for me," she said happily, sitting in an almost identical pose to Silver and quickly looking through her brochures. Silver looked at the front of the Celadon City Gym leaflet and immediately went starry-eyed. There was a beautiful girl on the front, wearing a stunning kimono and a peaceful expression as she gripped a Pokeball in one hand and a flower in the other. Her hair was short and black, held back with a red Alice band. He quickly opened the leaflet and found out that this wondrous apparition was none other than Erika, the Gym Leader, herself. "Hello? Are you listening to me?" Crystal ruptured his daydream by waving her hand in front of her face. "Wow, when you get focused on a Gym battle, nothing can rouse you, can it?"

"Yeah... Gym battle... right. But look at this! Isn't Erika wonderful?" he sighed, holding up the picture for Crystal to look at. Togetic's squeak of laughter was sufficient to stir Crystal out of her momentary shock.

"May I remind you that she's the enemy? You're meant to pound her to pieces tomorrow, remember? Typhlosion can turn her to ashes!"

"Typhlosion? What's he got to do with anything?" Silver said dreamily, and Crystal slapped her forehead.

"Togetic, you don't happen to know how to use Doubleslap, do you?" she asked, and Togetic shrugged. "Looks like I'll have to do it myself, then," Silver yelped as his best friend slapped him out of his daze impatiently, almost falling off his deck-chair.

"What was that for?" he asked, favouring his cheek. It still hadn't fully recovered from Wigglytuff's onslaught, in his opinion.

"Just to keep your mind on more important things. I've... er... found out that the perfume shop is next to the Gym itself," Crystal said, slightly embarrassed that they had trekked all of this way for nothing.

"Perfume shop? I thought we were going to my Gym battle with Erika?" Silver said.

"Silver, snap out of it! This is our day of relaxation! Tomorrow you fight and defeat Erika, and then we leave for pastures new, right?" she said with annoyance.

"OK, OK. Just keep your slapping hand away from me. Hey, guys, come over here! We're going to the perfume shop quickly; you can come if you want, but if not, don't leave the Pokemon Centre. That goes double for you, Gengar," The Pokemon crowded around them, and Gengar hissed in disappointment as his inevitable ruse was nipped in the bud. Eventually, Umbreon, Togetic and Tyrogue agreed to join them, whilst the rest of the Pokemon continued to play in the garden. Silver walked quickly, with Umbreon trotting beside him, as he was eager to peek into the Gym and perhaps catch sight of the vision of beauty named Erika, whilst Crystal stomped behind him and had her hand outstretched to restrain him from doing any such thing. They luckily approached the perfume shop from a direction which kept them away from the Gym, but Crystal's plan to keep Silver out of trouble was sunk as they entered and saw behind the counter none other than Erika herself.

"I don't think we need perfume after all," Crystal said, but Silver slipped from her fingers and seemingly teleported over to Erika, clasping her hands in his own.

"The scents in here are beautiful, but not as beautiful as you," he sighed, gazing into her eyes, but he felt a sharp pain in his ear suddenly as Crystal grabbed it and dragged him away.

"Holding her hands is one thing, but dodgy chat-up lines are another," she said resignedly. "He'll see you tomorrow for a Gym battle," she added over her shoulder at a shocked-looking Erika. "Come on, Silver. We're going back to the Pokemon Centre and you're having the coldest shower of your life,"


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 15**

Silver woke up bright and early the next morning, without the aid of an alarm or even Crystal, as he was looking forward to battling Erika. He remembered her face from the day before... admittedly, it showed shock rather than happiness, but he could work on that today. The desire to please her mixed with the desire to win his fourth Kanto badge. Perhaps using Typhlosion to destroy her would impress her? Or perhaps it would result in irreparable psychological damage. Balancing the two would be tricky, but he was prepared to try.

"Wakey wakey, Typhlosion! Feeling hot for today's match?" he said eagerly, releasing a sleepy Typhlosion. The Fire Pokemon looked at him quizzically, wondering why he was up so early and why he was making bad puns. Then he realised: his master had a 'thing' for the Gym Leader. He snorted his amusement, almost setting fire to the bedspread, and got up onto his hind legs, firing up his flame ruff to signify his readiness. "Great! You'll be able to beat Grass Pokemon pretty easily, I think. Noctowl, come out! Hmm... you look a bit less ready. Hello? Wake up, buddy!" Silver punched Noctowl's shoulder, waking the dozing Pokemon and making him retreat several hopping steps as he saw the look in his Trainer's eye. "With you two by my side, I'll beat anything she can throw at me. Let's go down to breakfast, and then we can go straight to the Gym," Togetic tapped him on the cheek and nodded towards the wall which separated his room and Crystal's. "Good call, Togetic. I don't want to wake Crystal; she'll just mess things up again. Ow! OK, OK, I'll wake her up!" he cried, as Togetic bit him sharply on the ear, which was still throbbing from Crystal's brutal treatment in the perfume shop.

"Hmm? Hey, what are you doing up so early?" Crystal yawned as she opened her door to see Silver standing there in full Trainer's gear.

"Don't want to be late for Erika, do I?" he smiled, and she rolled her eyes, closed the door and got dressed. The least she could do was stop him making a fool of himself.

"OK, let's go. I haven't seen you this enthusiastic for a Gym battle for ages," she said when she was ready.

"Huh? Oh yeah, the battle will be great," Silver said, snapping out of another daydream. Tyrogue jumped and punched the air happily as Crystal put her head in her hands. She made Silver sit down and have some breakfast, insisting it would do him good, as she saw he was looking out of the window expectantly rather than eating. She made sure that Typhlosion and Noctowl had had enough to eat before she let Silver drag them away, and followed in silence as he power-walked to the Gym.

"Tyrogue, I need you to keep an eye on Silver for me too. You're even stronger than me, after all, and we need to keep him focused on the battle. We can't have him losing just because he's gone gaga over his opponent," she said, and Tyrogue nodded. When they finally reached the Gym, they found Scott waiting outside.

"Hi guys! Sorry I don't have the Fan Club with me, Silver," he joked, then stepped back slightly at the radiant expression on Silver's face.

"I'm really pumped for this battle, Scott! I can't wait!" he said, before opening the door and walking into the Gym without a backwards glance.

"Ignore him. He's just got a crush on Erika. How are you, anyway? And how's Hypno?" Crystal explained, looking from Scott to the Psychic Pokemon expectantly.

"Oh, I'm fine. Still having great nights of sleep thanks to my friend here," he patted Hypno on the head lightly as he nodded at Crystal in greeting. "But did you say Silver's got a crush? I hope it doesn't make him screw up,"

"My thoughts exactly. But we're his friends, right? We'll look after him. Make Hypno put him to sleep if necessary," Crystal said, and they followed Silver into the Gym. It reminded Silver forcefully of the Azalea Town Gym, resembling a large greenhouse, yet whilst the Azalea Town Gym was more like a forest, this seemed more like a flower garden. All around him were girls manipulating beautiful flowers and orchids into position as they delicately arranged stunning displays. Perfumes and scents from the many blooms swam in the air in heady wafts that made them all feel slightly light-headed. There in the centre of the Gym, lovingly arranging an intricate wreath, was Erika herself, dressed in an even prettier kimono than the one she wore on the leaflet Silver had read. Silver, Crystal, Scott and their Pokemon made their way through the ranks of flower-arrangers until they reached the grassy stadium upon which Erika and several others were sat.

"Hi, Erika! I'm here for our Gym battle. But before we begin, let me just say how wonderful that wreath is that you're making," Silver stepped forwards and stood in front of Erika, and, as he hoped, praising her flower-arranging skills seemed to be the right thing to do as she smiled.

"Thank you, Silver. We shall use four Pokemon each, and should you defeat me, I shall hand over a Rainbowbadge," Erika cleared the stadium of her followers and stood at one end, whilst Silver took the opposite end, slightly disappointed that she hadn't prolonged their conversation. "Tangela, I choose you!" She released a Pokemon that resembled a ball of purple seaweed, with two red feet and a couple of wide eyes that stared out from the midst of its vines.

"Typhlosion, go!" Silver retorted, releasing the Fire Pokemon, who reared up on his back legs and roared in expectation.

"A Fire Pokemon. Not unexpected, but you shall find me difficult no matter what advantage you may have," Erika said approvingly.

"I'm sure I will," Silver replied, and it was with immense difficulty that Crystal stopped herself storming onto the battle-field and slapping him again. There was silence for a couple of seconds, as Silver waited graciously for Erika to attack. Ladies first, as the saying went, and he wanted to show that he had good manners at least.

"Silver, what are you doing? Attack!" Scott cried, but Silver held up a hand to pacify him.

"All in good time," he said, then turned back to Erika and gave her an encouraging smile.

"If you won't attack, I will. Tangela, Vine Whip!" A thick vine lashed out from Tangela's body, and, because Silver was preoccupied with how pretty Erika was when she was ordering an attack, Typhlosion took the hit straight to the face, and fell with a roar. This snapped Silver out of his daze straight away. Typhlosion got to his feet, rubbing his cheek, and gave his master a reproachful look, and Silver realised that this battle was just as important as any other, and he couldn't afford to get side-tracked. The fate of his fourth badge rested upon it, Erika or no Erika. He looked up with renewed determination and stared at his foe, and was stunned to see that she was wearing a focused expression almost identical to Crystal's when she was in a battle.

"Sorry, Typhlosion. I shouldn't have let that happen. Friends?" he said, and Typhlosion's neck-ruff burst into life as he roared with affirmation. Tyrogue and Crystal punched the air together as they saw Silver's attitude change for the better.

"Here we go," she said happily to Scott, "Silver's back!"

"Typhlosion, use Flame Wheel!" Typhlosion's mouth opened and he disgorged a swirling spiral of red-hot fire, eager to be back to normal.

"Tangela, use Vine Whip to dodge it!" Erika said, and Silver was momentarily thrown. Vine Whip to dodge? How was that possible? Tangela extended three vines with lightning swiftness and propelled himself upwards to avoid the attack, almost like he had sprouted three extra legs. "Now, use Bind!" Yet more vines sprang out from Tangela, and wrapped themselves around Typhlosion in a crushing grip as the Grass Pokemon lowered himself back to earth.

"Typhlosion, Strength! Reel Tangela in!" Silver parried, and Typhlosion grabbed the vines that snaked around him, wrenching Tangela towards him with raw force.

"Tangela, Sleep Powder!" Erika cried, and suddenly the hurtling Grass Pokemon glittered with sleep-inducing spores.

"Typhlosion, use Quick Attack to dodge!" Silver said quickly, and Typhlosion fell forwards onto all fours and darted away, a silver trail glowing behind him as he ducked beneath the sparkling Tangela. A dusting of the Sleep Powder caressed him as he dodged beneath his foe, but luckily he managed to shake it off, and the two squared off again as both took their position on the battle-field again.

"Tangela, Vine Whip again!" Erika ordered, and Tangela chattered his assent as this time two vines closed in on Typhlosion, trying to pen him in and prevent escape.

"Typhlosion, Flamethrower down the middle!" Silver said, aiming for a tried and tested tactic that relied on Typhlosion's resilience. However, Tangela adapted quickly as the fire rushed towards him, and one vine went high whilst the other went low; Typhlosion's legs were knocked out from underneath him and the Flamethrower jetted harmlessly towards the ceiling. Although Typhlosion hadn't been too badly harmed by the Vine Whip, Tangela hadn't yet been hit, and Silver knew he had to take the offensive quickly or else Erika would neutralise his greatest asset. "Typhlosion, Quick Attack!" Typhlosion charged forwards again as he sought to slam directly onto Tangela and knock him for six.

"Tangela, Giga Drain, when he's close!" Erika commanded, and Tangela suddenly glowed with energy that he waited to direct at Typhlosion, and siphon away his energy. This, Silver knew, was a fatal mistake; Grass moves wouldn't do too much damage to Typhlosion, and allowing the Fire Pokemon up close was not a sensible tactic. Typhlosion head-butted Tangela with incredible momentum behind him, and as Tangela was hurled away he blasted Typhlosion with bolts of green energy that tried to use his own energy against him. When Tangela landed, it wasn't, as Silver predicted, on his back, but steadily on his feet; he had used the sapped energy effectively, and was obviously at a high level to do it so well.

"Typhlosion, this is our chance! Bring him up close and personal with Strength!" Typhlosion spread his arms wide and grabbed Tangela, pulling him into a bear hug and exerting his powerful muscles.

"Close combat is foolish for you rather than me, Silver. Tangela, Sleep Powder!" The spores once again crusted Tangela's vines, bathing Typhlosion when he was most unable to dodge.

"Typhlosion, get away from there!" Silver warned, and Typhlosion inventively adapted this and rather than dodging away himself, he hurled Tangela away, making the stunned creature chatter with surprise as he was slammed to the ground. Typhlosion staggered backwards, snorting and sneezing, fighting to keep his eyelids open as Tangela hopped back to his feet.

"Tangela, Typhlosion's on the ropes! Finish him with Giga Drain!" Erika cried, and Tangela pattered forwards, amassing the necessary energy once again.

"Typhlosion, can you keep going?" Silver asked anxiously, but his question was answered as Typhlosion fell heavily on his side, asleep. Tangela hopped on top of his slumbering adversary and began to tear away his energy with the bolts of green energy Silver knew so well. However, it was a slow process; as Tangela's attack was not very effective against Typhlosion, sapping energy was made all the more difficult. He had barely managed to replenish the energy Typhlosion had already beaten out of him when the Fire Pokemon woke up, rearing upwards and throwing Tangela off with a roar.

"Tangela, Bind!" Erika said, and Tangela whipped out several vines to wrap around his foe.

"Typhlosion, Flame Wheel! Make it as wide as possible," Silver ordered, and a huge, swirling tunnel of flame rushed towards Tangela, Typhlosion sweating with the strain as he skilfully tried to manipulate it. Tangela hesitated as the vines came perilously close to being burned, and Silver knew that this was it.

"Tangela, jump up with Vine Whip!" Erika said sharply, and Tangela propelled himself upwards on his vines; however, he got caught in the shockwave of the fiery explosion that followed, and landed heavily on the floor.

"Typhlosion, finish him off with Flamethrower!" Silver said triumphantly, and Typhlosion bathed the fallen Tangela with fire as it chattered in pain. When the fire died down, Tangela had not survived it.

"Tangela, return. You did well. But now, Victreebel, you can weaken Typhlosion further!" Erika said, returning Tangela and sending out a bell-shaped plant-creature which screeched loudly as it appeared.

"Typhlosion, good job! Can you keep going?" Silver asked, and Typhlosion snorted as if the question was insulting.

"Victreebel, Acid! Show him how Grass Pokemon can burn their foes," A hissing blob of dark liquid was spat out of Victreebel's wide mouth, sailing towards Typhlosion and causing the ground to steam as droplets fell from it.

"Typhlosion, Flamethrower it!" Silver said, and Typhlosion blasted the glob of acid with a jet of fire. However, this seemed to be exactly what Erika had wanted; the acid blob split into a thousand fiery droplets and splattered Typhlosion. The Fire Pokemon hissed with pain as he tried to shake the painful acid off him, staggering backwards.

"Victreebel, Razor Leaf!" Erika said triumphantly. A cascade of sharp leaves span towards Typhlosion from Victreebel's own leaves, hammering the Fire Pokemon just as he had managed to get the last of the acid off him. Typhlosion was hurled backwards off his feet and landed heavily; the leaves hadn't done as much damage as they usually would against another Pokemon, but they had done enough. "Victreebel, another Razor Leaf! Keep up the barrage!" Erika encouraged, and Victreebel launched another volley of sharp leaves at Typhlosion.

"Typhlosion, Quick Attack to dodge! Get as close to Victreebel as you can!" Silver ordered, and Typhlosion flipped back onto all fours, darting away and causing the leaves to embed themselves in the grass behind him like ninja stars. Victreebel merely stayed where he was, trying to cover the entire battle-field in a swathe of flying leaves, but Typhlosion managed to slip away from most and suffered the rest, eventually spotting a gap and hurtling through it to batter Victreebel viciously, knocking him to the floor. "Now, Strength!" Typhlosion took advantage of Victreebel's temporary stunned state and grabbed the vine that snaked above his wide mouth, swinging him around before slamming him to the floor brutally.

"Victreebel, no! Sunny Day!" Erika cried, and from the dazed Victreebel's mouth popped a miniature sun, which hovered over the battle-field, emanating an almost blinding light and heralding an obvious increase in temperature. Silver was instantly on his guard; the last time he had faced Sunny Day with Typhlosion, his foe had used it to his advantage, powering up a powerful barrage of Solarbeams. However, if Erika didn't know that it also powered up Fire type moves, then this could be the chance he had been hoping for.

"Typhlosion, Flame Wheel!" he cried, and Typhlosion blasted out another fiery Catherine wheel.

"Victreebel, dodge and use Synthesis!" Erika countered, and Victreebel, though ungainly, just managed to hop out of the way in time, suffering only superficial burns before stopping dead. His leaves widened and angled towards the miniature sun and his eyes closed as he glowed with healing power, repairing any damage he had yet suffered.

"Typhlosion, quick! Flamethrower!" Silver commanded, and Typhlosion let loose one of his most powerful flame bursts yet, drawing energy from the sun that further heated his powerful body. Victreebel, rendered motionless as he used his leaves to suck in photosynthesised energy, was hit full-on by the powerful blow, and hurtled backwards with a screech of pain. As Typhlosion stopped the attack and let Victreebel clamber up, Silver saw that the Grass Pokemon was in very bad shape indeed. Such a powerful Flamethrower had not only wiped away the health gained by Synthesis, but more besides.

"Victreebel, Acid again! Then follow up with Razor Leaf!" Erika called, and Victreebel focused again, shaking off any ashes and spitting forth a glob of acid again, followed by a hail of leaves.

"Typhlosion, dodge to the left! Flame Wheel the Razor Leaves!" Silver countered, and the Fire Pokemon hopped aside from the acid, avoiding the worst of it, before consuming most of the Razor Leaves in an inferno. Erika ground her teeth as another attack was stopped cold, but Silver tore his gaze away from her face and focused on the battle as much as he could. "Typhlosion, finish this with one last Flame Wheel!" Typhlosion launched another fiery burst which swirled dangerously towards Victreebel, hissing and crackling angrily.

"Victreebel, jump upwards!" Erika cried, and Victreebel flipped his vine out from underneath him, propelling himself up into the air; however, they had underestimated how much Sunny Day had powered up Typhlosion's Flame Wheel, and Victreebel was nicked by its passing. This disrupted his jump, and he was caught full on by the following flaming explosion. Victreebel landed with a pathetic thump on the floor, and wheezed out some smoke as it collapsed in a heap. "Victreebel, return. Jumpluff, it's up to you to defeat Typhlosion," Erika released a frail-looking creature made up of cotton spores, which floated delicately above the battle-field.  
"Partly a Flying type, I guess. Typhlosion, return. Don't worry, you can come back later. Noctowl, time for you to have a bit of a workout!" Silver recalled the grumbling Typhlosion and released his own part Flying type, who hooted eagerly as he fluttered opposite Jumpluff. Erika sighed sadly and looked downcast as she saw that Typhlosion was getting a well-earned rest, and for a moment Silver was compelled by the urge to run over and comfort her. However, Crystal must have seen something in his eyes, and she cried,

"Silver, you're in a battle, remember? Stay firm!" Silver blinked and gave her a thumbs-up, and she beamed happily.

"OK, Noctowl, let's strike first this time. Try a Peck attack!" Noctowl flapped towards Jumpluff, his beak glinting as he gazed at his foe and slowly picked a critical spot.

"Jumpluff, Cotton Spore!" Erika said in response, and Jumpluff shivered in the air, releasing a deluge of spores that floated towards Noctowl.

"Noctowl, blow them right back where they came from!" Silver ordered, and Noctowl stopped in his path, flapping his wings quickly to disperse the Cotton Spores and drive them back towards their creator.

"Jumpluff, dodge!" Erika cried, and Jumpluff dexterously manipulated his floating spores to rise above the blown-back attack, emerging unharmed. "Now, Leech Seed!" Jumpluff spat out a volley of seeds, which flew towards Noctowl, extending tendrils as they did so.

"Noctowl, Fly attack!" Silver said quickly, and Noctowl rose up into the air, evading the Leech Seed and preparing to dive back down into the attack.

"Jumpluff, wait... now! Cotton Spore again!" As Noctowl sped towards Jumpluff, ready to beat him to the floor with the force of his assault, Jumpluff released another cloud of spores; this time, the Owl Pokemon was going too quickly to dodge them, and they engulfed him. When they finally cleared, Noctowl was hovering as usual, as if they had had no effect. However, Silver could see that the spores had slowed Noctowl's movements and reactions, opening him up for a deadly assault from Jumpluff. "Good! Now, Mega Drain!" Jumpluff floated in with what seemed to be incredible quickness when compared to the slowed down Noctowl, and started leeching off energy in the form of thin tendrils, floating in then ducking away again before Noctowl could strike back.

"Noctowl, Confusion!" Silver retorted, and Noctowl's crest and eyes lit up as he gripped Jumpluff in unyielding Psychic forces, pounding him with mental energy and hurling him away to disrupt his Mega Drain. Both combatants paused to regain their breath, and Silver assessed their battle so far. Only three attacks had actually hit home; two of Jumpluff's and one of Noctowl's. It was more a test of skill and prowess than sheer power, as both Pokemon had frailer than average constitutions but good speed and expertise. Now that Jumpluff had the speed advantage, things weren't looking good; but this was balanced out by Noctowl's type advantage.

"Jumpluff, Leech Seed again! Then prepare for another Mega Drain!" Erika ordered, and the floating Grass Pokemon launched another hail of seeds at Noctowl. Silver was just about to tell Noctowl to fly up and dodge them when his thoughts were interrupted by the sun that had come from Victreebel's Sunny Day going out, making the Gym seem dark and dim again. Thus, several Leech Seeds struck true, wrapping their vines around Noctowl and sapping his health steadily.

"Noctowl, Peck the Leech Seeds! We need to get you free!" Silver said, cursing the distraction, and Noctowl began ripping at the tendrils with his beaks, savagely tossing them away as they drained his dwindling health. Jumpluff darted in and started striking Noctowl from behind with Mega Drain, further sucking up his energy, but with a screech Noctowl spread his wings and flew free, casting off the last of his grassy shackles and escaping Jumpluff's attack. There was no way of getting around the fact that Noctowl was hurt, but he was also ready to strike back. "Use Fly attack again!" Noctowl climbed up higher, flapping his wings as hard as he could before abruptly falling into a spiralling decline, hoping to catch Jumpluff unawares.

"Jumpluff, Cotton Spore again!" Erika warned, and as Noctowl plummeted down Jumpluff released another puff of swirling spores.

"Noctowl, try and blow them back again! But keep falling!" Silver ordered. Noctowl extended his wings and flapped them to steady himself, then to waft the Cotton Spores back towards Jumpluff. Jumpluff rose above them again, and Noctowl took his chance to continue the plummet, slamming squarely into his foe. Jumpluff sailed backwards, struggling to keep himself aloft as he squeaked in pain. "Noctowl, another Peck will finish him off!" Noctowl landed on top of Jumpluff, easily forcing the much lighter Pokemon to the ground, and after a few seconds of calm deliberation, whilst Jumpluff struggled beneath him, Noctowl brought his beak down in a savage arc. Jumpluff's struggles ceased and his mouth lolled open as he was defeated.

"Jumpluff, return. Thanks to you, Noctowl shall be easy prey for Bellossom!" Erika hurled Bellossom's Pokeball into the arena, and a beautiful flower-like Pokemon with many-coloured petals danced and span on the spot as it appeared.

"Don't even think about it. Noctowl, return; well done for taking down Jumpluff. You certainly gave Typhlosion enough time for recovery, so here we go!" Silver released the Fire Pokemon, who roared happily again as he re-entered the field of battle. Erika now looked extremely ill-tempered, not at all her usual calm and collected self, but strangely Crystal didn't seem too cut up about it.

"Bellossom, Sunny Day!" she cried, and once again a hovering sun made its way over the battle-field.

"Now I can see a Solarbeam coming, Typhlosion. Get ready to dodge, but in the meantime, Flamethrower!" Silver said, and Typhlosion responded with a pillar of flame that roiled towards Bellossom with frightening intensity.

"Bellossom, dodge!" Erika said, and Bellossom flipped out of the way with incredible ease. The small creature was a lot more agile than it looked, and as the Flamethrower scorched the ground around it, it continued to dodge and leap away with mind-boggling ease. "Petal Dance!" As Typhlosion stopped for breath, Bellossom turned her jump into a spin, and a wave of rippling petals hurtled towards Typhlosion, battering him backwards but failing to knock him off his feet.

"Good job, Typhlosion! Bellossom may be hard to hit, but she can't dodge forever! Try a Quick Attack!" Typhlosion charged forwards with incredible speed, head-butting an unsuspecting Bellossom and hurling her away with a loud squeal of pain.

"Bellossom, Petal Dance again!" Erika ordered, and an even stronger gust of glittering petals swirled towards the Fire Pokemon as Bellossom leapt up again, and this time Typhlosion was battered onto his back with the force of the blow.

"Don't worry, Typhlosion. I think Petal Dance is the only thing she can use for a while, so get ready to show her some of your fire," Silver warned, and Typhlosion jumped back onto his back feet, firing up his neck-ruff and preparing to unleash a salvo of flames. Without provocation this time, Bellossom gave one last spin, sending out dozens of petals that glimmered dangerously, each one able to strike with the force of a Razor Leaf. "Typhlosion, Flamethrower!" Typhlosion released the fire he had been storing up in an equally powerful stream, and the two forces clashed in the centre of the battle-field; as strong as the petals were, they were no match for a Sunny Day-powered Flamethrower from an exceptionally strong Fire Pokemon, and Bellossom barely escaped alive as the fire smashed through her attack and singed her. She landed uncharacteristically awkwardly, and when she straightened up she was swaying slightly, her eyes unfocused. "That last Petal Dance confused her! Use Quick Attack to knock her back to her senses!"

"Bellossom, Solarbeam!" Erika gambled, and Bellossom gathered the power from the small sun above her, blasting the charging Typhlosion with a beam of incredible power. Typhlosion rolled across the grass, stunned and battered, but after a second or so he got back up, more wary now of his small foe. "Keep using Solarbeam! If we just focus, we can hit him with all the power at your disposal!"

"Typhlosion, use Quick Attack to dodge this time! It's only a matter of time before Bellossom hurts herself rather than you," Typhlosion zipped around the battle-field as Solarbeams blasted up clouds of dirt around him, slamming into the arena floor with uncommon power as Bellossom drunkenly launched attack after attack. However, as Silver predicted, Bellossom eventually tripped forwards, and the beam blasted directly at the ground, blowing her up into the air as she suffered its recoil. "Typhlosion, now! Grab Bellossom as she falls and use Strength!" Typhlosion lumbered forwards and caught Bellossom in mid-air, using the momentum of her own fall as well as his own muscles to power up an earth-shaking slam that left a Bellossom-shaped imprint in the grassy floor.

"Bellossom, speak to me!" Erika pleaded, and Bellossom rose hazily to her feet, confused no more but still heavily damaged. "Synthesis, let's go! And whilst you're at it, keep dodging!" Bellossom began to glow slightly as she started jumping around; she was healing herself at a much slower rate than Victreebel did, but she had the added benefit of being able to avoid further attacks.

"Typhlosion, we need to stop Bellossom healing herself! Try a Flamethrower, and see if you can catch her off-guard!" Silver commanded, and Typhlosion blasted out more jets of flame as he sought to pin down the elusive Bellossom. The Grass Pokemon had to pull off some dazzling moves to escape, and her rate of healing was slowed even further, but she managed to avoid the Flamethrowers and regain her health steadily at the same time.

"Bellossom, that's enough! Solarbeam him again!" Erika eventually called, and as Bellossom twisted away from a blast of fire she sent a beam of power towards her opponent.

"Typhlosion, hit it head-on with a Flamethrower!" Silver ordered, then prepared to shade his eyes from the coming collision. As he predicted, the two exploded forcefully as they impacted, throwing back both Pokemon. However, when the dust cleared, both still seemed ready for battle.

"Bellossom, we need to finish this! Give him one last Solarbeam, and give it everything you've got!" Silver had seen this type of tactic before; throw everything at the opponent at once to try and catch them off-guard. She would expect Silver to retaliate with a full-strength Flamethrower, so he decided to go for the unexpected.

"Typhlosion, dodge it with Quick Attack!" Erika's eyes widened as Typhlosion avoided the massive Solarbeam by inches, then slammed head-on into the tired Bellossom. "Flame Wheel!" Silver ordered, and in seconds the fire had coalesced, then exploded outwards with incredible force. Ironically, as soon as Bellossom fainted, the Sunny Day disappeared, as if it signified the Pokemon's surrender.

"Bellossom, return. I can scarcely believe that you defeated me so easily, without losing a single Pokemon; Typhlosion alone beat three of mine. Here is your Rainbowbadge, Silver. I hope you wear it with pride," Erika walked over and shook Silver's hand, handing him a many-coloured badge that he clipped onto his jacket in pride of place.

"I'll remember your beautiful face whenever I gaze upon this wonderful badge," Silver replied, starry-eyed once more and overcome at last by Erika's proximity and physical contact.

"Alright, buster. That's enough for today, let's go," Crystal made her impromptu appearance and dragged Silver away, although in celebration of his victory she grabbed his shoulder rather than his aching ear.

"Goodbye, Erika! Maybe we'll meet again someday!" Silver called, waving to the object of his affections, who blushed slightly and waved back, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"I wouldn't count on it if I were you," Scott pointed out, and Togetic squeaked happily. When they were a good distance away from the Gym, and Crystal had threatened Silver with another slap, they got to discussing the battle excitedly.

"Typhlosion did really well, didn't he? I think he was at the top of his game today. Noctowl was brilliant as well, of course," Silver said as they sat down to lunch at the Pokemon Centre.

"You were fantastic too, Silver. You ignored her beauty right up until the end," Scott said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"See? Scott agrees with me, she is beautiful," Silver said to Crystal, who folded her arms with a loud,

"Humph!" Silver ignored her and turned back to Scott, who was watching Crystal as if he feared retaliation for his non-too-wise words.

"So, who am I up against next? Saffron City, right?"

"Yep, but I'm not going to tell you who. I think it's more fun that way; look how you destroyed Erika after I told you what you were up against in Vermilion City," Scott pointed out.

"I suppose. But the Gym Leader surely can't be more beautiful, more elegant, more... ow!" Silver was interrupted by Togetic, who bit his ear again on Crystal's instruction.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 16**

"That journey seemed really short after the last one. Celadon and Saffron are barely an hour or two away from each other, are they?" Crystal said, reminiscing on their long trek from Lavender Town to Celadon City. They had reached Saffron City in the same day that Silver won his Rainbowbadge, albeit at too late a time to challenge the next Gym. Even Silver admitted that challenging two Gym Leaders in one day was pushing it. Saffron City was unbearably like Goldenrod, Johto's major city and a bustling, heaving metropolis of constant action and movement. Both of them had hated Goldenrod City, and shared similar feelings over the even larger Saffron City. However, there were many things to do and landmarks to visit, which endeared it to Crystal slightly. The Saffron City Gym was the top of Silver's list, outside which he would hopefully meet Scott, who had travelled with them to the city but split up when they reached the Pokemon Centre. But there was also Silph Co., a world famous Pokemon company; the Magnet Train Station, which they had admittedly visited before; the Pokemon Trainer Fan Club, subtly different from the Pokemon Fan Club in that it worshipped the Trainers themselves rather than their battling companions; and finally a place called the Fighting Dojo, which Crystal was eager to visit beyond anything else. In fact, Silver had agreed to go there even before going to Saffron City Gym the next day to see what it was all about. Instead of Silver waking up Crystal that morning, eager to meet and battle Erika, it was the much more familiar scenario of Crystal waking Silver up, all dressed and ready to investigate the Fighting Dojo which was next to the Gym; where they hoped to meet Scott and tell him about their arrangement.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Silver groaned as Crystal literally dragged him out of bed, leaving him to get dressed in the early hours of dawn as she ran down for breakfast with Tyrogue in tow. "Boy, what did I do to deserve this?" Silver grumbled as he put on his badge-laden jacket. Togetic gave him a look which reminded him of his actions the previous day, making a fool of himself around the Celadon Gym Leader. "OK, I remember now. Enough with the guilt trip. Now, let's go and get some breakfast, shall we? Come on out, everyone!" He released all of his Pokemon and wandered down to the food hall, where they found Crystal impatiently waiting.

"Hurry!" she whined. "You were fast enough on your feet when Erika was waiting," Silver mumbled something in return and sat down to eat, carefully selecting his food but speeding up as Crystal and Tyrogue's fingers drummed on the table in time with each other.

"Alright already. Come on, guys. We'll have to starve whilst Crystal finds out about the Dojo," Silver said, recalling his Pokemon as Crystal let out a particularly loud tut, but she didn't rise to the bait and dragged him out of the Pokemon Centre, not even stopping to thank the nurse on the way out. It seemed that due to the leaflets she had procured the night before, she had committed the route to the Dojo to memory, and even with the thronging paths and busy traffic, they were able to get there in a few minutes. The Dojo itself and the Saffron City Pokemon Gym were direct contrasts, although they stood side by side. The Dojo was obviously an old and respected wooden building, with traditional architecture that conjured up thoughts of samurai, nobility and inner strength. The Pokemon Gym was almost alarmingly modern in comparison, seemingly made entirely of stainless steel and wide glass panels that shimmered in the early sunlight. The Pokeball logo on the front was the only splash of colour in the midst of thin letters proclaiming it the 'Saffron City Pokemon Gym'. Waiting outside it were Scott and Hypno; despite having sleep problems, Scott always seemed to be up and about before anyone else. "Hey, Scott! Hypno! Over here!" Silver called, and managed to restrain Crystal and Tyrogue for long enough to say hello.

"Morning, Silver! You too, Crystal! Tyrogue, Togetic, good morning," Scott clapped Silver on the shoulder and nodded at the rest of them, a habit he must have picked up from the similarly-nodding Hypno.

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue jumped and punched the air, ever enthusiastic, whilst Togetic squeaked his welcome to the two newcomers.

"We're here to investigate the Dojo. Crystal wanted to see it, so my Gym battle's taking a back seat for now," Silver explained.

"That's nice of you. Well, Crystal, I think this is a haven for Fighting type Trainers. As you may have already guessed," Scott said.

"Yep! Me and Tyrogue, we're ready to challenge 'em all!" Crystal replied eagerly, clenching her fist. "You can watch with Silver, if you want,"

"I'd love to. Now, don't let me restrain you for any longer," Scott responded, gesturing towards the door. Crystal happily walked over and wrenched it open, with the rest of her friends in tow. It reminded Silver of the Cianwood City Gym; it was a large hall with a battle-field in the middle, surrounded by mats upon which people practised martial arts and feats of strength. On the opposite wall was the dojo's all important symbol, which the Trainers inside were pledged to protect with their lives if necessary. A large, bulky man confronted them as they walked in, wearing a stern expression.

"Greetings. What service may I do for you today?" he boomed, bowing to them. Crystal bowed back excitedly and said,

"I was wondering whether I could train with you for a while. I'm a Fighting Pokemon Trainer, you see,"

"Good Trainers are always in demand, and must always seek to better themselves. You have come to the right place..."

"Crystal. My name's Crystal. These are my friends, Silver and Scott," The two of them waved awkwardly at the man, who regarded them imperiously for a second before turning his gaze back to Crystal.

"Today, as it transpires, we are having a tournament. The winner shall claim the dojo's symbol for their own, as well as a prized Fighting Pokemon. Trainers have come from far and wide to compete; you may watch, if you wish. Your friends, too," he said graciously.

"Watch? Can't I compete?" Crystal asked with the hint of a whine in her voice. The man's eyes widened, his only outwards sign of shock, whereas Scott and Silver were almost floored.

"Compete? I don't know whether you are of the right calibre to succeed," the man eventually said stiffly.

"Oh, please? I have two Pokemon. Where can I sign up?" Crystal asked, looking at the man as if she expected him to pull a contract out of his thin white shirt.

"She's a really good Trainer. She won't disappoint you," Silver assured him.

"Yes, she's... well, I haven't actually seen her battle at all, but you can trust her anyway," Scott said falteringly. Crystal beamed radiantly at the two of them. The man looked back to Crystal.

"You come highly recommended. You can compete after all, I suppose. We are currently training, but the tournament will start in an hour," He walked away to rejoin his fellows and Crystal hugged Silver tightly.

"Thank you, Silver! You too, Scott! I can't wait for this, I really can't! You're both really good friends," she said.

"Don't worry about it. Just do us proud out there," Silver said, slightly embarrassed but happy nonetheless.

"I will. Ready, Tyrogue? Hoo-hah!" She and Tyrogue took up their identical karate positions and hurried over to a mat to start practising.

"I haven't the heart to remind her about Heracross," Silver admitted as she walked away.

"Heracross? Crystal's got a new Pokemon?" Scott said, surprised.

"Yeah, didn't she tell you about it? Well, I suppose I can understand why... Heracross is a bit crazy. Crazy like Eevee used to be, but... crazier. Berserker, almost. You'll see when Crystal uses him in battle. She saved him from a Day Care Centre, where his Trainer had abandoned him,"

"She's a very caring and compassionate person, isn't she?" Scott remarked, watching her train.

"Yes. One of the most kind-hearted I've ever met," Silver agreed, then walked over to join her, releasing all of his Pokemon to train as well. After an hour of physical exercise, with both he and his Pokemon doing laps, lifting weights and such like, a bell chimed.

"Will those competing in the tournament please step to the front of the dojo, in front of the symbol," the man who had greeted them announced, and everyone else moved to the sidelines as the mats were cleared away and the competitors moved forwards.

"Phew! I like working out with my Pokemon, but I don't think I'll make too much of a habit of it. You did well, everybody. Nice wings exercises, Noctowl. Wobbuffet, you're looking good too," Silver said as his Pokemon crowded around him, he and Scott sitting down on a long bench.

"You both looked like you were enjoying yourselves. I hope that Crystal didn't tire herself out," Scott said, but Silver waved him away.

"Tyrogue and her have got endless amounts of energy. She's a good Trainer, trust me. Tyrogue's good too. It's Heracross I'm worried about..." Silver said, then fell silent as he pondered the vicious Bug Pokemon. Heracross was strong, but wild, and he could end up wrecking the tournament unless Crystal had a firm hand. They waited until another bell chimed, and saw that there were eight competitors, all of them dressed like Crystal and clearly serious about Pokemon; Fighting Pokemon in particular. The owner of the dojo walked up and down the row, staring into the eyes of each Trainer and bowing to them in turn. Togetic squeaked encouragingly as it was Crystal's turn to bow, and as the man walked on down the line she turned and gave them all a thumbs-up. When he had inspected all of them, the man returned to the middle and announced,

"There will be four one-on-one battles. The winners of each will progress to the semi-finals, for another one-on-one battle. The two winners will battle for the title of Dojo Champion," Crystal twitched as he mentioned the last part, and Silver knew that she wasn't going to leave until she had claimed the title and the symbol for herself. They watched two battles before Crystal's first bout; she was against the largest of the men, who stood with his hands on his hips and gave a booming laugh.

"Well, well, well! Am I to face this pipsqueak and pass onto the next round so easily?"

"Pipsqueak? I'll show you pipsqueak! Tyrogue, get ready for battle!" Crystal said angrily, and Tyrogue took to the stadium.

"Machamp, show the girl your incredible strength!" her opponent rumbled, releasing a four-armed behemoth who seemed entirely composed of rippling muscle. "Machamp, Cross Chop!" he ordered, and Machamp crossed his four arms over his chest as his hands glowed with power.

"Tyrogue, dodge backwards!" Crystal ordered, and as the four arms swept outwards in powerful karate blows, Tyrogue pulled off a spectacular back-flip, landing easily and tensed for more commands as a gormless look of surprise spread across Machamp's face, as well as almost everybody else's. "Tyrogue, hit him with Headbutt!" Tyrogue immediately darted forwards, slamming his head into Machamp's belly, but he bounced backwards off the wall of muscle, leaving it almost unharmed.

"He can't dodge forever, and he can't hurt us either! Machamp, Seismic Toss!" the Machamp Trainer cried, and Machamp grabbed Tyrogue tightly, leaping upwards on super-powerful leg muscles and slamming Tyrogue heavily down onto the arena floor. Tyrogue rose unsteadily from the dust as Machamp retreated to assess the damage.

"Tyrogue, are you OK?" Crystal asked anxiously, and Tyrogue punched the air, a familiar happy expression on his face despite the pounding he had just received.

"Machamp, Karate Chop! Let's go!" the Machamp Trainer boomed, and Machamp lumbered forwards, his arms raised and palms outstretched to deal four critical chops to every part of Tyrogue he could reach.

"Tyrogue, Hi-Jump Kick!" Crystal retaliated, and Tyrogue leapt upwards, his foot swinging up out of nowhere and slamming into Machamp's chin as Tyrogue slipped through the maze of thick arms. Machamp roared with pain and stumbled backwards, losing his bearings. "Tyrogue, Mega Punch!" Tyrogue was instantly there, pummelling Machamp's face with a volley of glowing punches, and miraculously making the Machamp fall to one knee after the battering.

"Machamp, grab the pipsqueak in a Strength attack!" Machamp spread his arms wide and tried to bring Tyrogue into a crushing bear hug that he would not survive.

"Tyrogue, he's ripe for another Hi-Jump Kick! Then finish up with Tackle!" Crystal ordered, and Tyrogue seemed to figure out her strategy even if nobody else had. The Fighting Pokemon leapt upwards and kicked the lowered Machamp full in the face, then used the momentum of his jump to flip over and land behind his foe. Pivoting, he slammed into Machamp from behind in a shoulder-barge, knocking him face-first onto the hard stadium floor with a crack. There was deathly silence for a moment as Machamp twitched, then fell still. The Machamp Trainer's mouth almost hit the floor with shock as he looked on, and Crystal high-fived Tyrogue happily. "Yeah! We did it, Tyrogue! Two more battles to win, and we'll be the Champions!" she cried.

"Wow. She did really well. Even better than I expected," Silver admitted, who had also been speechless after Machamp's easy defeat.

"I'll say. Tyrogue's constant training is really paying off," Scott agreed.

"But it'll only get more difficult from here. Crystal, Tyrogue, you can do it!" Silver cried in encouragement as they left the arena, and they both beamed at him happily. After a couple more battles, in which a worrying amount of skill with Fighting Pokemon and some truly dazzling moves were portrayed, Crystal's second bout was announced. She was against a Trainer with a Mankey, whom had pleased the crowd with its quickness and fancy footwork earlier.

"Tyrogue, ready for another battle?" Crystal asked.

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue punched the air and moved forwards to engage his chattering foe.

"Mankey, get ready for battle!" her opponent ordered, a charismatic ninja-like boy who knew to work the crowd. Mankey nodded in response and took up a karate pose. "Good! Now, get in there with a Tail Whip!" Mankey danced towards Tyrogue, shifting from foot to foot quickly and changing direction at the blink of an eye.

"Tyrogue, keep your defences up. Go in slowly and prepare for a Mega Punch," Crystal advised, and Tyrogue kept his arms up in a blocking formation, edging closer to Mankey and watching him unblinkingly.

"Now, Mankey! He's wide open!" the ninja cried, catching everyone by surprise; Tyrogue was purposely keeping in a defensive position, so how could he be wide open? Mankey rolled to the side and managed to hook his tail around one of Tyrogue's ankles, toppling him to the floor. Mankey danced on the spot and laughed at Tyrogue as the Fighting Pokemon struggled to get up amid appreciative murmurs from the crowd. Silver could see his tactic; he wanted to use panache to get the crowd on his side, and at the same time make Tyrogue angry and careless. It was a solid strategy, but then again Crystal was no slouch herself.

"Don't worry, Tyrogue. Keep a cool head," she said, and Tyrogue punched the air with a big smile on his face.

"Someone as terminally happy as Tyrogue can't be incensed by such a tactic," Scott said happily.

"I know what you mean. But he'll need to take the fight to Mankey quickly," Silver replied.

"Mankey, try a Fury Attack this time," Mankey started hopping around again, drawing closer and closer to Tyrogue as he picked his spot.

"Tyrogue, Tackle him! Let's go!" Crystal ordered, and Tyrogue charged forwards into another shoulder-barge. Somehow, though, Mankey managed to back away just as fast, needling Tyrogue's chest with a volley of lightning-fast punches on the way. There were now outbreaks of laughter from the crowd as Tyrogue gave up and stopped, glaring at the grinning Mankey as the ninja-boy bowed. "Tyrogue, Headbutt! Then Hi-Jump Kick!" Silver wiped his brow as Crystal gave the orders; she was attacking both high and low at once, hopefully leaving no room for Mankey to escape.

"Mankey, Tackle!" the ninja-boy countered, not looking perturbed at all by Crystal's tactic. Mankey dashed forwards and grabbed Tyrogue's lowered head, slamming it into the ground before vaulting over him and tackling him from behind. Tyrogue got back to his feet, still looking ready for battle despite his bruises, but Silver could see that Crystal's temper was fraying.

"Tyrogue, Mega Punch again! You'll hit eventually!" she snapped, and Tyrogue ran towards Mankey, his glowing fist raised. The two Pokemon lunged and parried with each other, Mankey dodging the fist by centimetres and biting, kicking and scratching Tyrogue whenever the opportunity arose. The many little attacks were all building up, and eventually Tyrogue was going to find himself weakened and hurt.

"Mankey, finish him off with Karate Chop!" the ninja-boy eventually said disdainfully, and the crowd watched expectantly, hoping for another star turn. Mankey hopped backwards and swung in his palm, aiming for Tyrogue's neck to do the maximum amount of damage.

"Tyrogue, grab it!" Crystal parried, and Tyrogue somehow managed to grab Mankey's hand in both of his own, halting the Karate Chop and wrong-footing just about everyone. "Now, Headbutt!" Tyrogue slammed his head forwards and connected cleanly for the first time. Mankey's eyes were suddenly unfocused as the powerful blow nearly concussed him.

"Mankey, Fury Attack!" the ninja-boy ordered, and Mankey started jabbing Tyrogue again with his free hand. However, these blows were noticeably slower and less powerful than before, so Tyrogue was able to all but ignore them.

"Good, Tyrogue! Hi-Jump Kick!" Tyrogue pushed Mankey backwards, and, as he stumbled, jumped into the air and connected with a powerful face-crushing kick. They could almost see the tiny birds floating around Mankey's unconscious head as he landed on the floor. Tyrogue jumped and punched the air happily

"Yes! You're in the final! You can do it, Crystal!" Silver and Scott cheered, and she punched the air alongside her Pokemon. This was it; the final battle. Crystal would have to pull out all the stops if she wanted to claim the title of Dojo Champion.

"Now we move to this, the last duel which will decide the fate of our Dojo Symbol. Will it fall to Blackbelt Kob, who is but one representative of our fine Dojo? Or will the newcomer Crystal stake her claim well and arise with honour to the occasion? Battlers, take your positions," the owner announced, and Crystal and Kob bowed to each other from their opposite positions. "Let the double battle begin!"

"Wait, what? Double battle, did he say?" Silver said anxiously, almost falling backwards off his bench. Crystal looked shocked too, but as she only had two Pokemon, there was little debate as to who she would choose.

"Heracross, Tyrogue, let's go!" she said, her voice wavering slightly, but that look of determination Silver knew so well was returning. Her foes were Machoke and Primeape, two obviously strong and vicious Pokemon. The Machoke which Kob had used earlier had shown strength which far surpassed his competitors, and Primeape, though an unknown quantity as of yet, would likely be the same. They looked to be a strong team, but Crystal's own duo weren't looking too good. Heracross, it seemed, believed that it was an all-out battle between the four of them, and instantly attacked the nearest foe... which happened to be an unsuspecting Tyrogue. His glowing Megahorn slammed into the back of Tyrogue's head, a dire hit at the best of times, but accentuated by the fact that Tyrogue hadn't been resisting. The Fighting Pokemon fell forwards limply, and Heracross hissed happily, looking around for approval. "Heracross, no! How could you do such a thing?" Crystal cried, completely taken by surprise, and Silver ran forwards onto the battle-field.

"Crystal, let me take Tyrogue. I'll look after him. Don't worry, everything'll be alright," he said, hugging Crystal, who seemed close to tears as she gazed upon the Bug Pokemon. Scott lifted up Tyrogue and carried him back to the sidelines, where he laid him on the bench like a sick-bed. The rest of the Pokemon crowded around him in concern as Silver called to the dojo's owner. "Can I lend her a couple of my Pokemon? Heracross is a bit out of control," The dojo owner shook his head stoutly.

"Rules are rules. It is the fault of the Trainer if the Pokemon is out of control," he said. Crystal looked devastated at his verdict.

"Don't worry about it, Crystal. Don't listen to him, it's not your fault," Silver comforted her and made to drag her back to the sidelines, but the dojo owner stopped him.

"The battle is in progress. Nobody can back out now," he growled. Silver started to give him a piece of his mind, but Crystal stopped him.

"Silver, can you go and look after Tyrogue for me? I've got to finish this battle, for the honour of the dojo. As a Fighting type Trainer, I understand this," she said softly. Silver reluctantly returned to minister to Tyrogue as Crystal got ready for battle again, staring at her opponents hopelessly.

"Ha! You think to win the dojo's symbol without discipline? I will make this short, then, so you don't embarrass yourself further," Kob sneered, and several of his Blackbelt companions chuckled appreciatively. Silver could see the colour rising in Crystal's face, and apparently Heracross could too. The Trainer who had saved him from abandonment was being publicly mocked due to his overenthusiastic battling. And here in front of him were two nicely large foes to pound into nothingness to prove that he was, in fact, a good Pokemon, and deserved to belong to a Trainer rather than being left behind. He hissed angrily and closed in for battle, his wings buzzing frantically. "Here he comes, boys! Machoke, Seismic Toss! Primeape, get ready for a Fire Punch!" Machoke grabbed Heracross' horn, leapt up and hurled the Bug Pokemon helplessly away, where he landed heavily; perfect prey for the blazing fist of Primeape, which collided heavily with him in a super-effective blow. Crystal was watching silently, knowing none of her words would make any difference, and the look in her eyes spurred Heracross to his feet. "Still ready for more, eh? Well, we'll give it to him! Primeape, Thunderpunch! Machoke, Cross Chop!" Heracross was wracked with dozens of volts, as well as a powerful punch, as Primeape battered him towards Machoke; the Superpower Pokemon scissored his arms away from his chest and caught Heracross in the back, dealing a critical hit and sending Heracross flying.

"Heracross, no!" Crystal couldn't stop herself crying out this time, and Heracross leapt back to his feet on hearing her voice. Machoke and Primeape were standing close by, watching him intently, but he moved quicker than they could respond in their false sense of security. He grabbed Machoke by the arm, swung him above his head and slammed him into Primeape, smashing both of them away with incredible force. Then he was standing above them, pounding every part of them within reach as he angrily vented his strength, using no particular attack other than raw muscle. He punched Machoke in the face at the same time as he levered his horn underneath Primeape, raising his head quickly and tossing the berserk monkey Pokemon upwards. Then he flew upwards himself, meeting the falling creature with one of the most powerful punches he had ever dealt. He was moving so quickly, so crazily, that neither of his foes had any chance to retaliate. It was Primeape's turn to be used as a missile as he hurtled down towards Machoke, knocking them both onto the floor in a tangle of limbs. Machoke jumped up, seething with anger, but was met with a Megahorn right between the eyes which left a mark that would probably stay with him forever. Primeape tried to crawl to a safe position to get his bearings back, but Heracross jumped on top of him, stomping with all of his might as he forced the creature into unconsciousness.

"Primeape, return. Machoke, it's up to you! Use Rage!" Blackbelt Kob bellowed with a note of finality. Machoke's eyes glowed red for a moment as he summoned all the fury at his disposal, charging towards Heracross with a bloodcurdling cry, a charge which Heracross met with his own hiss of anger. They stood within inches of each other, battering, kicking and even biting as they lent themselves over to pure anger and guts, intent on thrashing their opponent for both their honour and the honour of their Trainers. Heracross was winded by a punch to the stomach. Machoke suffered a stinging horn blow to the cheek. It all seemed decided as Machoke grabbed Heracross' horn, lifting him up before slamming him sharply down onto the arena floor.

"Heracross! Please be alright!" Crystal cried, and this kept Heracross tethered to reality. The Bug Pokemon lurched up to his feet, fixed Machoke with his bleary gaze, and shunted his glowing horn so hard into the Superpower Pokemon's stomach that all in attendance were surprised that it didn't stab straight through and emerge from the other side. Machoke sprawled backwards in abject defeat, and his Trainer cried,

"Machoke, no!" However, Machoke was in no position to hear his master's voice, and was reluctantly recalled as shock spread over the stadium. Even Crystal seemed stunned. Then, a lone voice broke the silence;

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue limped onto the field, grabbed Heracross' wrist and lifted his hand victoriously up into the air. This broke the tension and Crystal did the same on the other side, punching the air herself with her free hand. Heracross had won the battle! Crystal was the recognised Dojo Champion of Saffron City! Silver, Scott and their Pokemon swarmed onto the battle-field, crowding around the victorious three. Silver hugged Crystal as Scott patted her on the back, and Typhlosion lifted Heracross high into the air as Tyrogue and Gengar did a rudimentary victory dance together.

"You were all brilliant. Well done, that was the best battle I've ever seen," Silver said, and Crystal smiled.

"Only because you've never seen one of your own battles before. Heracross, you did me proud! Tyrogue, you always have done!" There was a short presentation ceremony afterwards, in which Crystal was given the dojo's symbol by the owner, who was wearing a very forced smile indeed.

"And you may pick out of these three. Each Pokeball contains a Fighting Pokemon which you may take with you," he continued as Crystal lovingly placed the symbol in her backpack. Three Pokeballs were in his hand, giving no indication of who or what lay within.

"Which do you think I should pick?" Crystal asked Silver hesitantly.

"Your choice. You deserve it," Silver replied, waving her on.

"OK, I'll have... this one!" Crystal picked up the middle one and released its occupant, and instantly three hands slapped three foreheads. Standing there was none other than a Tyrogue.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 17**

"What am I going to do with you?" Crystal asked despairingly as two Tyrogues walked beside her. She had asked the dojo leader to let her swap, but it was with some relish that he refused her. Now Tyrogue and the newly-christened Tyrogue2 were both members of her party, although they couldn't be more different. Tyrogue2 was stern, serious and proud, a stark contrast to the happy-go-lucky enthusiasm of Tyrogue.

"Well, Tyrogues can evolve into three different Pokemon, can't they? You could end up with two different ones at the end of the day," Silver said reasonably.

"But what if they never evolve? What if one of them has to have a number on the end of his name for the rest of his life?" Crystal responded, and Silver rolled his eyes.

"Always look on the bright side, don't you? It comes down to whether the Pokemon wants to evolve, and also what level it is. From what I've seen of Tyrogue2, which isn't much, I'd say that he'd want to evolve to get more powerful. I also think that the dojo will have trained him up well, so he'll be near enough the right level. All he needs is a shove in the right direction," Silver replied, and Crystal sighed.

"Perhaps you're right. But I don't think Tyrogue2 will take any nonsense from Heracross, even though Heracross doesn't mean to be nasty. We'll have to keep them apart or risk a bloodbath," she said.

"Well, the bloodbath can wait. Today we're off on more sightseeing, remember? Then tomorrow, my Gym battle!" Silver tried to galvanise her, but she merely responded with a half-hearted air-punch, so he gave up.

"Where are we headed first?" she asked gloomily.

"Silph Co., of course! Remember that leaflet you read the other day, the leaflet about its history?" Silver asked, and at last a smile appeared.

"Oh yeah! All about how Team Rocket invaded, and how a brave Trainer fought them off single-handed! That was a really interesting read. Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!" Silver wasn't sure he had done the right thing in getting Crystal back to her usual self after all. Silph Co. loomed above them, an officious concrete mass that seemed uninteresting to the outside, but which held many secrets within its walls. Silver, Crystal, Togetic and the Tyrogues entered slowly through the revolving doors, looking around the lobby with interest. There was an attendant behind the desk who seemed to eternally have a smile on her face, like a weather-girl. The floor plan was on the wall next to the stairs, in front of which stood an immaculate guard. There was little decoration except for a pot-plant in the corner, but at the attendant's desk were some impulse-buy items for crazy tourists like Crystal. Leaning on the wall to the revolving door was a man who held a Porygon in his arms, seemingly day-dreaming as he waited to be let up into the higher levels.

"Good afternoon, sir and madam," the guard bowed to the two of them. "What can I do for you today?"

"We were wondering whether we could go up into the building and have a look around. We're visitors from Johto," Crystal replied, as if that settled the matter.

"Ah. I'm sorry, but since that business with Team Rocket, we don't let visitors up into the building itself. A security risk, or so I've been told. However, you can find everything you need to know about Silph Co. on this handy leaflet," The guard produced the exact same leaflet that Crystal had found at the Pokemon Centre, and Tyrogue slapped his forehead.

"Can't we even have a little peek?" Silver asked feebly, but the guard shook his head and delved his hand into one of his pockets.

"I was given this a couple of days ago as a little bonus, but I can't figure out for the life of me what exactly it is. Here, you can have it if you want, as a little memento," he handed over a small black box and Crystal smiled at him.

"Are you sure?" she asked with slight trepidation, shaking the box slightly to see if any reaction could be produced.

"Yes, it isn't doing me any good, after all. I was told it's called an Upgrade, but an upgrade for what is debatable," the guard laughed.

"Well, thanks anyway. Let's go, Crystal," Silver said, dragging Crystal away as she sought to go and buy some impulse items from the attendant.

"Oh, Silver, please... oops, I dropped it!" Crystal flailed for the Upgrade as it slipped from her hand, and it was accidentally kicked by Tyrogue2 as he walked along, flying up and hitting the Porygon owner on the forehead.

"Ouch! What on earth?" he looked up to see if the ceiling was collapsing, and was thus unaware that his Porygon was glowing with white light.

"Wow! Look, Porygon's evolving!" Silver said enthusiastically, dropping Crystal and hurrying over for a closer look. Crystal and the Tyrogues followed, and the man looked at them as if they were crazy.

"What d'you want? Huh? Porygon, what's wrong?" He noticed Porygon morphing in his arms, but Silver stopped him interfering with the evolution process, hissing,

"Shh! He's evolving!" The man fell silent, and at that point the white light died down, revealing a smaller, Porygon-like creature with smoother skin. It trilled loudly and nuzzled into its owner's chest.

"Porygon evolved into Porygon2!" the man exclaimed delightedly.

"And my Upgrade's nowhere to be seen," Crystal pouted, although she fell silent at the look on Silver's face.

"Porygon2, Tyrogue2... Looks like numbers are all the rage today," he said, scratching his head and looking from the happy Porygon2 to the uninterested Tyrogue2.

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue jumped and punched the air happily.

"Hey, are you two Pokemon Trainers? How about a battle to test Porygon2 out?" the man asked, looking from Silver to Crystal.

"Yeah, I'd be happy to," Silver suggested, but Crystal pushed in front of him.

"Porygon2 vs. Tyrogue2, out in the square!" she challenged, and Tyrogue2 looked up with a grim smile on his face, finally hearing something he liked.

"Sure, let's go!" After a minute or so, the Porygon man and Crystal stood several metres away from each other in front of the Silph Co. building, their Pokemon ready for battle.

"Tyrogue2, start off with a Mega Punch!" Crystal cried, but Tyrogue2 merely looked at her quizzically. "Uh... OK. Headbutt? Hi-Jump Kick? Tackle?" she got increasingly desperate as she went along, but as she said the last move, Tyrogue2 charged forwards, slamming into Porygon2 and knocking him backwards. "Is Tackle the only move you know, or something?" Crystal huffed, and to her dismay Tyrogue2 nodded.

"Porygon2, Conversion2!" the Porygon man cried, and Porygon2 glowed with white light as if it were evolving before dying down again. Silver slapped his forehead and cried,

"So many 2s!" Togetic squeaked with laughter from his shoulder.

"That didn't do anything, Tyrogue2, so Tackle again!" Tyrogue2 battered Porygon2 once again, and Porygon2 squeaked in pain.

"Hang in there, Porygon2! Sharpen!" Porygon2 gleamed for a second before standing firm again, and although his surface seemed smooth, Silver knew it had become temporarily razor-sharp.

"Tyrogue2, hang back for a moment! I don't want you hurting yourself on Porygon2!" Crystal warned, and Tyrogue2 obeyed, stepping backwards.

"Porygon2, your conversion turned you into a Psychic type, and your sharpening gave you an impregnable defence from physical attacks! Now, hit him full-on with Psybeam!" A beam of rippling multicoloured energy blasted from Porygon2, striking Tyrogue2 full in the face and forcing him off his feet. When the beam stopped, Tyrogue2 seemed to have fainted.

"Tyrogue2, no!" Crystal rushed forwards to administer to Tyrogue2, but he had already woken up again, despite looking hazy.

"Great job, Porygon2!" the Porygon man cried, and scooped Porygon2 to his chest lovingly.

"Don't worry, Crystal. You just got Tyrogue2, after all," Silver said understandingly, but Crystal still looked forlorn. Tyrogue2, however, looked far worse, as if he had caused a terrible accident by his failure and was trying to cope with the consequences. He got up and ran down the street, away from Silver and Crystal, looking distraught at his loss.

"Tyrogue2, come back!" Crystal cried, but he ignored her and kept running.

"Boy, I'm sorry about that. I didn't know that would happen," the Porygon man said, and Porygon2 trilled his own condolences.

"It wasn't your fault," Crystal sniffed.

"Good battle by the way," Silver added, but Crystal punched him ferociously on the shoulder.

"Quick! We have to catch up with Tyrogue2! He could be anywhere by now!" She dragged him away down the street, and he waved to the Porygon man once before releasing Noctowl.

"Noctowl, can you give us an aerial overview? If Tyrogue2's anywhere in sight, you can spot him," Noctowl hooted his agreement and took to the sky. "Before you do it, don't even think about releasing Heracross. I know he can fly, but he'll still probably attack Tyrogue2 rather than save him,"

"I'm not stupid," Crystal glared at him, and the two of them fell silent, running in what they hoped to be the right direction. Soon, they were well and truly lost, and neither had a clue whether they were even close to finding Tyrogue2. "He could've gone into any of these buildings!" Crystal wailed, gesturing around her.

"We can go back to the Pokemon Centre and put out an alert. That way, everybody will be on the lookout," Silver suggested, and Crystal nodded.

"But... where is the Pokemon Centre?" she asked, and both almost burst out laughing as they remembered they were lost. However, Noctowl ended their troubles with a prompt reappearance, floating down with a hoot and landing on Crystal's head, pointing his wing in the necessary direction. "Thank you, Noctowl! Lead the way!" Crystal cried, and Noctowl flew up again, guiding them from above. They stopped outside a gym; not an official Pokemom Gym with a Gym Leader, just a plain old gym where people and Pokemon could physically train.

"We should've guessed, really. Tyrogues never run out of energy. Good work, Noctowl," Silver added, and Noctowl nodded once before getting recalled into his Pokeball. They entered the gym, and saw that Tyrogue2 was in a corner, balancing on his head as he worked his muscles on some weird machine which escaped Silver's comprehension. Tyrogue ran forwards and conversed with Tyrogue2, whose replies were short and terse. Tyrogue then turned and looked at the two Trainers as if everything had been explained.

"Tyrogue what's he saying?" Crystal asked, and Tyrogue smiled happily at his owner's incomprehension. He pointed at Tyrogue2, then made a motion that raised his tiny biceps, as if he was trying to impress someone.

"I think Tyrogue2's training up to be a better battler to show you that it's a good fighter, Crystal. Am I right, Tyrogue?"

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue jumped and punched the air as Silver hit the nail on the head.

"Tyrogue2, you don't need to impress me! I know you're a great Pokemon, Porygon2 just had a type advantage. And only knowing one attack doesn't help you," Crystal knelt down beside Tyrogue2, but only seemed to be making things worse as he started training harder and harder, his muscles straining. Crystal straightened up and said, "I think we should all have a workout. Just to help break the ice between us all,"

"Good idea. I'll release all of my Pokemon too," Silver said, and in several minutes they were up and running. Crystal and Tyrogue were doing the same exercises that Tyrogue2 was, trying to engage him in conversation at the same time, whilst Silver opted for a treadmill, allocating Togetic to button duty to regulate the speed. Wobbuffet looked after his cast-aside jacket, being of the wrong build to use a lot of the equipment, whilst Gengar was given his backpack for a similar reason, as well as to keep him out of trouble. Umbreon ran on a treadmill beside him, with Typhlosion and Noctowl lifting weights close by and Politoed swimming lengths in the pool, outstripping the human swimmers with consummate ease. In celebration of his victory in the Fighting Dojo, Heracross was allowed to be loose, impressing everyone by staying on-task for once, although he did almost break a machine designed for much weaker humans. Everyone abruptly stopped when Tyrogue2 leapt loose of his training machine, breathing heavily but quickly regaining his inexhaustible stamina. He was standing with his hands on his hips, gazing out of the window, and Silver guessed what was running through his mind; he wanted to find, challenge and defeat Porygon2.

"Tyrogue2, are you sure you don't want to have a rest in the Pokemon Centre?" Crystal asked, but Tyrogue2 shook his head firmly. "Come on, then. We'll find Mr. Porygon again, and this time, you'll beat him!" For a moment, the two Tyrogues were almost indistinguishable, as a true smile graced the face of Tyrogue2 for the first time. Silver half expected him to jump and punch the air.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Crystal? I mean, he can only use one attack, and Porygon2's really strong," Silver said awkwardly, but Crystal ignored him and said,

"Noctowl, find Mr. Porygon for me! Tyrogue2, get ready for battle!" To Silver's consternation, Noctowl actually obeyed, and soon they were following the Owl Pokemon through the streets of Saffron City to find the Porygon man. It took a while, but eventually they found him in the Pokemon Centre, having handed over Porygon2 for a post-evolution check-up.

"Hi! I see you found Tyrogue2," he said as he saw them, gesturing towards the normal Tyrogue, who punched the air. Crystal gently but firmly pushed him away and put Tyrogue2 into greater prominence.

"Would you like another battle? Tyrogue2 really wants to battle Porygon2 again, for some reason, and I'm right behind him,"

"Uh... we can battle again if you want. Porygon2 shouldn't be too long, I gave him in a while ago. In fact, here he is now..." The nurse appeared and handed over a happy-looking Porygon2 to his Trainer.

"Porygon2 is in great condition, and is very content to boot. I can only thank you for letting me examine such a happy and healthy creature," she said, and the Porygon man smiled and thanked her in turn.

"He may not be so happy or healthy in a few minutes, I'm having a battle," he said, pointing at Tyrogue, who punched the air again.

"Please be careful. I hope to see you all again," the nurse said, then bowed and left. Silver resignedly stood on the sidelines of their improvised battle-field as they took up position again in the square.

"Ready, Porygon2?" the Porygon man said, and Porygon2 squeaked.

"Tyrogue2, let's... huh?" Crystal was gobsmacked for a moment as Tyrogue2 took to the field and immediately started glowing as he set eyes upon his foe. His very body was drastically shifting within the light, and when he emerged Tyrogue2 was now Hitmontop, the three-legged Fighting evolution famous for his spinning attacks. He balanced perfectly on the point on his head, dead still and staring grimly at Porygon2 from his upside-down position.

"Looks like the training paid off! He must've been closer than we suspected to evolving," Silver whistled, and Togetic squeaked happily.

"_And _he'll know a load of other moves! Looks like this is getting interesting," Crystal said, although Hitmontop stayed silent.

"Porygon2, Conversion2!" the Porygon man cried, and once again Porygon2 switched types unnoticeably, suddenly becoming super-effective against Hitmontop.

"Hitmontop, Rapid Spin!" Hitmontop started to spin incredibly quickly like a spinning top, a complete blur as he rotated on the spot for a moment before launching himself at Porygon2 and landing a painful hail of super-quick blows.

"Porygon2, Sharpen!" Porygon2 was suddenly razor-sharp again, and Hitmontop backed off, now completely still again.

"Hitmontop, Dig!" Crystal retorted, and once again Hitmontop span, although this time he went so quickly he actually burrowed into the earth beneath him. Porygon2 looked around helplessly, feeling the ground rumble, and all of a sudden Hitmontop made his appearance, bursting from the ground and hammering Porygon2 hard before landing perfectly on the point on his head.

"Porygon2, Psybeam!" the Porygon man said, confident of victory this time.

"Hitmontop, Detect!" Crystal riposted, and at the last possible second Hitmontop leaned an inch to the right, feeling the air thrum with the power of the Psybeam he avoided by millimetres. "Now, Triple Kick!" Hitmontop span on the spot one more time, quickly launching into a barrage of three well-placed and super-powerful kicks that knocked Porygon2 unconscious. "Yes! You did it, Hitmontop, we won!" Crystal cried, hopping from foot to foot in victory, although again Hitmontop was still and silent.

"Porygon2, return. Looks like another visit to the Pokemon Centre is in order... Well, I hope that Hitmontop can get over his grudge now. He looks like he'll be a powerful Pokemon in time," the Porygon man.

"Porygon2's a really cool Pokemon as well. Thanks for the battle," Crystal replied, hugging Hitmontop then returning him when no reaction seemed forthcoming.

"That's OK. Let's go Porygon2," the Porygon man replied, and walked back into the Pokemon Centre ruefully.

"Good job, you two. I didn't expect Tyrogue2 to evolve, especially right before a battle," Silver admitted.

"Well, I haven't actually had a very good history with predictable Pokemon, have I?" Crystal replied, and Silver had to admit she was right.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 18**

"Remind me why we're here again?" Silver groaned.

"The Pokemon Trainer Fan Club is a landmark, whether you like it or not, and I'm going to become a member," Crystal replied stubbornly.

"But you don't even care about other Trainers!"

"It's not whether I care or not, it's the principle! I'll be a member of a prestigious organisation!"

"Prestigious? You'd never heard of it until I told you about it!"

"Silver, _come on_..." Crystal dragged him inside the Pokemon Trainer Fan Club's headquarters unwillingly, and he sighed at Togetic.

"This is time I'll never get back, Togetic. Time that could be better spent training for my Gym battle," he raised his voice slightly, but Crystal ignored him anyway. As soon as they walked in, the people inside fell silent. From the look of them, they were mostly normal people rather than Trainers, preferring to watch people battle rather than battle themselves. They were crowded in a cosy room with a plate of cookies on the table, which only endeared them to Crystal further, and Silver had to admit that he was getting hungry what with all of this sightseeing. Suddenly, the people were rushing towards them excitedly, and he saw that they had rapt expressions on their faces that suggested they were meeting a celebrity. "Well, I didn't know that so many people saw my TV debut, but I'll be happy to answer questions," Silver said, puffing his badge-studded chest out as he referred to his brief TV appearance after being beaten by Red, the Pokemon Champion. However, the people flooded past him and surrounded Crystal happily.

"I can't believe she's really here! She won the dojo's symbol, like, hours ago!" one over-excited girl said, fanning herself with her hand.

"She beat out all of those big-headed Blackbelts easily, with just Tyrogue and Heracross! Now that's a Trainer with skill!"

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue jumped and punched the air as people looked at him with admiration.

"Any chance we could see the champion? Heracross himself?" one man asked tentatively.

"Well, he doesn't generally like appearing in public," Crystal gushed, "But I'm sure he'll be happy to for such loyal fans!" She unwisely released Heracross, who surprisingly didn't wreak havoc and merely blinked around at everyone. Silver crossed his arms and felt strangely annoyed as he, the winner of twelve badges and near-Champion of the Pokemon League, was shunted aside by the girl of the moment.

"And is it true you were given another Tyrogue?"

"Not only that! He evolved into Hitmontop! Hitmontop, come out!" Crystal released Hitmontop, thoroughly loving the attention, and the Fighting Pokemon merely stood silently on his head, ignoring everything around him. The crowd gave 'oohs' and 'ahs' as they looked at Hitmontop, and Silver snorted with annoyed amusement. Several of the Fan Club members turned to look at him.

"Don't worry, you can have a look too! Here, come and meet Hitmontop!" an old woman said to him kindly.

"Yeah, don't be shy!" Crystal said devilishly. "There's enough Crystal for everyone!" At this point Togetic squealed with laughter from his position on Silver's shoulder, and Silver was in half a mind to forcefully silence him somehow.

"Er, excuse me, but I won my Rainbowbadge a couple of days ago. My fourth Kanto badge and my twelfth overall; I'm from Johto, after all," Silver flashed them what he hoped to be a dazzling smile.

"Don't worry about him, he's my best friend," Crystal explained to the dumbstruck fans, and they immediately took a greater interest in him, asking polite questions about his Pokemon. As one insensitive child put it,

"As Crystal's best friend, you must be pretty good. But I wouldn't like being overshadowed the whole time,"

"Overshadowed? Right, if Heracross isn't going to make a scene, I think I will in a minute," Silver hissed to Crystal, who was barely containing her giggles.

"I like your Hitmontop," a soft voice suddenly announced, and Crystal jumped. A sleek boy was standing there, about Silver's age, slightly older perhaps. He had several Pokeballs on his belt and wore ninja-like clothes, except they were light blue instead of black. Long white hair drifted across his face like snow.

"Uh... thanks. Here, have a closer look. Hitmontop, come over here!" Crystal called, and Hitmontop flipped onto his feet and walked over before jumping back onto his head, staring up at the ninja-like boy impassively. The ninja boy stared back, examining the Fighting Pokemon closely and smiling thinly.

"He's in good condition. He must be very well-trained,"

"Yeah, well... I've only had him for a day or so. The dojo people must have been really good teachers or something, because he's only had one battle," Crystal explained. The ninja-boy smiled.

"I like to think of myself as a Trainer. Or should I say, less of a Trainer and more of a collector. Here, take a look," He released a Hitmonchan and a Hitmonlee, both in fine condition.

"Wow, cool! Someday, perhaps, Tyrogue here will evolve into one of them. Take a good look, Tyrogue!"

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue punched the air happily.

"How would you like to trade? I have several other Pokemon that may be of interest to you. Only, I'd like to have the set of Tyrogue evolutions. Perhaps you'd even consider trading over Tyrogue himself, then I'd really have the set," the ninja-boy said with mounting enthusiasm.

"Oh no, I'd never trade Tyrogue, never. As for Hitmontop... well, I don't know. He might do better around his evolutions. I'll need some proof that you treat your Pokemon well, though, because if not I'll never hand him over," Crystal replied, hugging Tyrogue protectively.

"If you want, we can go to the Pokemon Centre, and the nurse there can assess how happy Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are. On the way, I can tell you about the training we do, if you like,"

"Sure, that'd be great!" Crystal smiled. "Come on, Hitmontop!"

"D'you want me to come along?" Silver asked anxiously.

"You can if you want. You can help me pick what to trade Hitmontop for!" Crystal said happily, and Silver tagged along with them. He didn't entirely trust this ninja guy, although he didn't know why. The Fan Club members were sad to see them go, or more accurately sad to see Crystal go, but she ordered Tyrogue to wait there with them so they didn't follow her around in a fawning crowd. The nurse in the Pokemon Centre was very obliging, and said that Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan were well-conditioned, fit, powerful and above all content.

"Thank you for being such a good owner; it makes my job worthwhile to see such happy Pokemon," she said, before tending to a sick Growlithe nearby.

"There you are, then. Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, return. What do you say, Crystal? Will you trade me that fine Hitmontop?" the ninja said with a grin.

"I don't know what other Pokemon you have, yet! I'm not trading him for nothing!" Crystal replied, and the ninja laughed.

"No, of course not! Here, choose out of these three. Mankey," he held up one. "Machop," he held up a second. "And Poliwrath," he raised the third, then pooled the three in his outstretched hands.

"Hmm, some good Pokemon. All Fighting types, but Poliwrath is also a Water type. I think I'll go for him after all," Crystal said after a minute of deliberating.

"Poliwrath, eh? Yes, he's a very good warrior. He's saved me in more situations than I can remember. Here's his Pokeball... Thanks, I'll look after Hitmontop really well, I promise," The two swapped Pokeballs, then the ninja slapped his forehead. "Oh no! I've just remembered! Sorry, I really have to go. Goodbye, Poliwrath! Enjoy your new life with Crystal!" He sped off and disappeared.

"Hey, come back! I wanted to say goodbye to Hitmontop!" Crystal cried, but he was gone before she had even finished her sentence. She turned to Silver incredulously. "I can't believe him! What could be so urgent that he couldn't even see his old pal in the flesh one last time?"

"I knew he was pretty weird when I first saw him. Let's have a look at Poliwrath, then. Actually, Politoed, you can greet him too! You're practically the same anyway. I'm joking, I'm joking," Silver said hastily, as Crystal looked daggers at him.

"Poliwrath, come on out! Welcome to the family!" She hurled Poliwrath's Pokeball, and it flipped open to reveal... nothing. "Huh? What's going on?" she said quizzically, lifting up the Pokeball and shaking it slightly, then trying to release Poliwrath again.

"He conned you!" Silver said angrily. "That's why he didn't stay behind! He's given you an empty Pokeball, and ran off with Hitmontop!" Crystal looked uncomprehending for a moment, then she tried to release Poliwrath one last time. Nothing. Her eyes filled with tears.

"No! I can't believe I fell for it! I didn't even ask to see Poliwrath first!" she cried. Silver put his arm around her comfortingly.

"Don't worry, we got a good look at him. We'll tell the police and he'll be chucked in jail in no time. Hitmontop will be back with us soon, don't you worry,"

"No! Don't you understand? We traded! Hitmontop's his now! Hitmontop will obey him, because I _told_ him to obey him! There are no trade-backs unless both people want to!" she sobbed, tears trickling down her cheek.

"That's it. You go back to your room and have a rest. I'm going to look for this guy. Don't worry, I'll pick up Tyrogue and Heracross on the way," Silver vowed. He shut the door to her room carefully, leaving her inside with a wad of leaflets in a vain attempt to try and cheer her up, and ran down the hallway. He was determined to catch this ninja guy and force him to hand over Hitmontop. His blood boiled at the idea that Crystal had been so trusting, just as she always was, and someone had taken advantage of it. When he burst out of the front doors, he immediately released Noctowl. "Noctowl, search for this guy high and low. You can too, Gengar, and no funny business," he said warningly, releasing the Ghost Pokemon on a whim. Running back to the Fan Club, he pulled Heracross and Tyrogue out of their grasp, and explained the situation. Tyrogue looked uncharacteristically angry and Heracross hissed with rage, buzzing up into the air and out of sight. "Heracross, come back!" Silver yelled, but he knew that if Heracross didn't obey Crystal, his Trainer, then he had no hope of commanding the Bug Pokemon. As he ran along in no particular direction, he phoned the police from his Pokegear and hurriedly explained the situation, along with a brief description of the thief. They replied that he'd have to come to the police station to fill in a form of some sort, and he hung up in frustration. He asked everyone that he passed whether they had seen the ninja guy, moving on quickly when they shook their heads, and eventually, as he fruitlessly questioned yet another person, Gengar emerged from a nearby wall.

"Gengar!" he hissed, a demonic grin on his face as he revelled in the mayhem.

"What's up, Gengar? Did you find him?" Silver asked anxiously, and Gengar nodded, leading the way. Silver, Togetic and Tyrogue followed Gengar to a small bar, a perfect haven for those who didn't want to be found. "Good job, Gengar. Everyone, come out. We'll need to stick together if we want to survive in this place," Silver said nervously, releasing all of his Pokemon for moral support. However, entering the bar was soon deemed unnecessary, as the very ninja they were looking for smashed through a bottom floor window, landing groggily on the floor. Following him through was a very irate Heracross, buzzing angrily as he closed in on his foe. "Heracross, no! You can't beat him up, you're too strong!" Silver pleaded, but Heracross ignored him and pummelled the floored ninja brutally. "Typhlosion, quickly! Restrain Heracross! Tyrogue, keep the ninja boy under wraps," Silver said quickly, and at once the Fire Pokemon had Heracross firmly in his grasp, whilst Tyrogue sat on the ninja's chest. Silver stood above the ninja and said, "Where's Hitmontop, you thief? That was a really low thing to do to Crystal, and I'm here to bring Hitmontop back at any cost,"

"Hitmontop? What Hitmontop? I don't know what you're talking about!" the ninja grinned despite his poor position.

"I find there's no justice like the justice of an angry Heracross. Tell me the truth or I'll set him on you," Silver said, hoping that the ninja wouldn't call his bluff; he had direct experience of a Pokemon vs. a human and had no desire to put anyone else through it.

"Fine, fine. Hitmontop's gone. At this point, I'd usually say something like 'Prepare for trouble', but in the circumstances..." the ninja said, completely coolly.

"'Prepare for trouble'? Oh no... Not Team Rocket..."

"Oh yes. We may have been defeated, and badly, in Johto, but in Kanto we still have several agents. I'm more of a freelancer; I steal other people's Pokemon and hand them over for cash. Hitmontop has gone towards buying me a new car already,"

"You sold Hitmontop? First you steal him, then you sell him to an evil organisation? You're coming with me. On the way to the police station, you'll tell me who you sold him to. He can't have gotten far in the short time you were gone,"

"I'll come with you? Dream on. Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, go!" the ninja released his two Pokemon from their Pokeballs, and they immediately dislodged Tyrogue.

"Don't make me do it. Seven on two isn't a fair match-up," Silver warned, as his Pokemon prepared for battle and the ninja stood up, brushing the dirt from his clothes.

"Whatever. Hitmontop's probably winging his way towards Giovanni right at this second. Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, attack them! I'll come back and break you out of prison!" he said, and ran off down the street.

"You can't trust him, he's a liar! But I suppose you're his partners in crime, aren't you? Umbreon, use Quick Attack to take out the ninja. Gengar, Hypnosis him and put him out of action. Everyone else, pick your targets," Silver ordered quickly, and Umbreon and Gengar darted after the ninja whilst the rest of the Pokemon grappled with the outnumbered Fighting Pokemon. Heracross broke loose of Typhlosion's grip as the Fire Pokemon unleashed a Flamethrower to burn Hitmonchan, and instantly he charged in and started battering the Fighting Pokemon mercilessly with his fists and horn. The ninja fell forwards, asleep, as Gengar and Umbreon did their jobs, and Silver ran over to him, recalling Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee before they could get too badly hurt. It took him a while, but eventually he convinced the police over the phone to come and investigate, and when they arrived he filled out the form as quickly as he could, stopping to watch the ninja get taken away. Then he started the dreaded journey back to the Pokemon Centre. He found Noctowl waiting outside, and returned him, leaving only Tyrogue, Heracross and Togetic out of their Pokeballs as he prepared to break the news to Crystal. "Togetic, your daddy's going to need you soon. She'll be really upset about Hitmontop. Heracross, try to reign yourself in a bit, OK? I know you were trying to help, but beating him up wouldn't solve anything. Tyrogue... just be yourself. If anyone can cheer her up, you can," he said, and the four of them knocked on Crystal's door with trepidation.

"Where is he? Where's my Hitmontop?" Crystal cried from within, and wrenched open the door with a mixture of tears and expectation glittering on her face. Her expression changed to despair as she saw that Hitmontop wasn't with them. "No! You promised! You promised you'd find him!" she cried.

"We found the ninja, and he works for Team Rocket. He sold Hitmontop off to their bosses," Silver explained quickly, and Crystal broke down into tears again. The next few hours were full of pain and misery, hours that Silver hoped he would never have to repeat again. Crystal almost never stopped crying, but she seemed full of a fiery determination to see the ninja pay and to find Hitmontop again. It was with immense relief that Silver received a phone call from the police; they had tracked down Hitmontop at last. However, their tone wasn't encouraging. "They've found him, Crystal! It may have taken them a while, but they found him," Silver reassured her, not letting on his own misgivings. They went straight to the police station, and the situation was explained quickly to them. The ninja had given in to their interrogation to reduce his prison sentence, and told them where they could find a small Team Rocket squad that was still operating. Fortunately, they managed to raid the squad and save a number of stolen Pokemon, although their condition wasn't good. Many, if not all, were traumatised by their kidnaps and treatment at the hands of the Rockets, especially those who had been there for a long time. Hitmontop himself needed extensive rehabilitation time, which he would receive along with the others at a specialised Pokemon Centre. Crystal was faced with a decision; stay with Hitmontop until he recovered, or keep going with Silver and visit Hitmontop whenever she could.

"Silver, I... I'll come with you. That way, I won't have to see every day how badly Hitmontop was damaged by the incident. I can keep in contact with him through your Pokegear, can't I?"

"Of course. Every day, whenever you want to call, just tell me," Silver said, and she hugged him both in thanks and for comfort.

"Oh, Silver... my poor Hitmontop... why did it have to be him?"

"Just remember Pokemon Tower, Crystal. We've got to be thankful that Hitmontop's alive, and in time he'll be well again," Silver replied. They were given the address of the Pokemon Centre Hitmontop would be relocated to and were left to brood in silence, although when he woke up that night, Silver swore that he could hear Crystal crying from the room beside his.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 19**

The day of Silver's Gym battle in Saffron City had arrived, but as he woke up, courtesy of the alarm, he was full of dread rather than excitement. Not because of his battle, but because what had occurred the previous day. He wondered whether it would make him lose the Crystal he knew and replace her with a sad, brooding shadow of her former self. It was to his immense surprise, therefore, that when he saw Crystal that morning she was smiling.

"I've decided to stay with Hitmontop today, if you don't mind. You know I want you to succeed, even if I'm not there to watch. I know that Hitmontop wouldn't want me to be sad, especially as we know he will recover in time. I'm just glad that the thief's been put in jail," she said, although it was obvious from her red eyes that she had spent much of the night before in tears.

"I'm glad you feel that way. I agree, Hitmontop would want you to be your usual happy self. He'll be fine, I promise, especially with such a loving Trainer looking out for him. Give him my regards," Silver replied, and Crystal hugged him.

"I will. Good luck with your Gym battle, Silver. I'll see you later," They split up after breakfast, Crystal heading for the Pokemon rehabilitation centre and Silver making his way to the Saffron City Gym, where he found Scott and Hypno waiting. He felt strangely alone without Tyrogue, Crystal or Togetic with him, as Togetic had gone with Crystal to support her and help her feel better, so it was with relief that he greeted his friends.

"Hi, Scott. Hi, Hypno," he said tiredly.

"Wow! You look like you've had a worse night's sleep than I used to have. Before Hypno, of course. Late night?" Scott asked.

"Not exactly," Silver replied, and hurriedly explained what had happened the day before. Scott's expression changed from happy to troubled.

"So Team Rocket still makes a nuisance of themselves. Poor Crystal. Poor Hitmontop, come to that... We'll go and visit them later, after your battle,"

"Good idea. Well, what am I up against today?" Silver asked, feeling some of the old enthusiasm return. Scott smiled and looked happier himself.

"Sabrina, the Master of Psychic Pokemon! The Dojo next door used to be another official Gym, but Sabrina single-handedly took it to pieces and stripped its status away," he replied.

"Wow, she must be tough. But Umbreon can handle any Psychic Pokemon, and so can Gengar at a push," Silver said confidently.

"I'm sure you're right. Here, give me your backpack, I'll look after it as there's no Togetic here," Silver handed over his backpack and entered the Gym, Scott and Hypno following behind. The Gym was seemingly the same on the inside as it was on the outside; shiny glass and stainless steel all over the place, creating a weird ultra-modern effect. Even the battle-field was made of metal. On a sort of throne in the darkness at the back of the Gym was a woman dressed in austere purple clothes. Her hair was long and jet black, and her eyes indigo as she stared unblinkingly forwards. Her skin was very pale and she was very thin. In one gloved hand was a coiled leather whip.

"I foresaw your coming, Trainer. Nearly four years ago, when I fought another child such as yourself, I was struck with a vision. Although I did not see which of us would triumph. What is your name, challenger?" Sabrina said quietly, stepping forth from the shadows to confront him. Silver had been unnerved by Morty's seeming ability to tell the future, but this was a new level of odd. Four years ago was a long time, and to still remember it in such detail, and in fact expect it, was incredible.

"I'm Silver, from New Bark Town. I'm here to challenge you for a Marshbadge," he said as confidently as he could.

"I know. Shall we begin?" Sabrina asked, and Silver nodded, taking his place at one end of the field whilst Scott and Hypno waited at the sidelines to cheer him on. "Mr. Mime, I choose you!" What emerged from the Pokeball was perhaps the weirdest Pokemon Silver had ever seen. He supposed it vaguely resembled a human mime artist, but it was just as creepy as Jynx, the other human-like Pokemon.

"Umbreon, let's go!" Silver released Umbreon onto the battle-field and felt at least vaguely confident; Psychic attacks couldn't hurt Umbreon, being a Dark type, so this battle should be his easiest in Kanto yet. However, he wasn't going to count his Pidgeys before they'd hatched, and was prepared for anything.

"Mr. Mime, Psychic!" Sabrina ordered, and Mr. Mime moved his huge hands around in the air, summoning and controlling a wave of mental energy to pound Umbreon with. But Umbreon merely ignored the haze that tried to wrap itself around him and looked politely bored as he stood there, waiting for instructions.

"Umbreon, hit him with a Quick Attack!" Silver cried, and Umbreon dashed through the Psychic to pummel Mr. Mime with a head-on charge that sent him reeling. Sabrina tried not to look shocked that Psychic hadn't worked, and Silver was filled with perverse amusement that she hadn't predicted that that would happen. "Umbreon, Bite!" he continued, and Umbreon leapt forwards to snap his jaws around Mr. Mime.

"Mr. Mime, Reflect!" Sabrina countered, and Umbreon crashed against a transparent wall, stopping his attack cold. "Now, Doubleslap!" Mr. Mime's hands were perfectly adapted for slapping, and he put them to good use as he pummelled Umbreon viciously.

"Umbreon, Faint Attack!" Silver ordered, and Umbreon vanished, leaving Mr. Mime slapping nothing but empty air. Mr. Mime looked around, a comical expression of worry on his face seconds before Umbreon attacked from behind, throwing him forwards onto the ground with another charge. Mr. Mime cried out with pain and got to his feet unsteadily.

"Mr. Mime, Barrier! All around you!" Sabrina cried, and Mr. Mime created a shimmering, thick, see-through shield around himself, impervious to assault.

"Barrier's a good defensive power, but it only works against physical attacks! Give him another Faint Attack, Umbreon!" Umbreon charged at the Barrier and looked like he was going to smash headlong into it, but on the instant of contact he vanished, reappearing instantly behind Mr. Mime and pinning him up against his own shield. The Barrier wavered and fell as Mr. Mime cried out again in pain. 'He not only looks funny, he's not too strong, either,' Silver thought to himself, then remembered that he had thought exactly the same thing when he first saw Whitney's Miltank. He unfortunately also remembered how wrong he had been proven on that occasion.

"Mr. Mime, Doubleslap!" Sabrina commanded, and once again Umbreon was being stung by a volley of surprisingly hard slaps directly to the face. Even Crystal couldn't compete with that slapping power.

"Umbreon, Quick Attack to dodge! Then Take Down!" Umbreon dodged backwards from Mr. Mime so quickly it seemed he had disappeared again, then charged forwards and delivered a powerful lunging tackle that made Mr. Mime slump backwards in defeat. Umbreon himself hadn't come out unharmed, but it was nothing compared to Mr. Mime's injuries.

"Mr. Mime, return. Alakazam, attack!" Sabrina emotionlessly recalled Mr. Mime and released another lamb to the slaughter. Alakazam was an incredibly powerful Pokemon, there was no doubt about it, but the one time he had faced one before, Umbreon had defeated him and come out unharmed. And that was against the Champion, Red, so he assumed this time would be no different. "Alakazam, Future Sight!" Alakazam's eyes glowed blue for a moment, but nothing happened.

"Another failed Psychic move! Bite attack, Umbreon!" Umbreon savagely bit Alakazam's arm and the creature stumbled backwards in pain.

"Alakazam, Reflect!" Alakazam created another panel of protection that shoved Umbreon away, whilst Mr. Mime's, still on the field, shimmered out of existence.

"Umbreon, Faint Attack! Same as before!" Silver said triumphantly, trusting that Umbreon remembered Red's Alakazam and how it had been defeated. Umbreon vanished, then came back into view behind Alakazam, slamming him up against the Reflect with ease. "Good! Now knock him away with a Quick Attack!" Umbreon battered Alakazam from the side, sending him hurtling away from the Reflect with a cry of pain. "He's on the ropes! Take Down!" Umbreon jumped in for one last tackle, but suddenly there was complete silence on the battle-field, as if someone had turned off the volume. Out of nowhere, a crackling ball of energy slammed into Umbreon, knocking his attack off-course and making him squeal with pain as he hit the floor. "What was that?" Silver cried, but Umbreon looked as clueless as he did as Alakazam straightened up.

"You thought that no Psychic attacks could work against Dark types; you were wrong, I'm afraid. Alakazam, Future Sight! Then Recover!" Alakazam's eyes glowed blue again, but again nothing happened. Suddenly, Alakazam glowed bright white, and when he emerged he looked as healthy as he had done on entering the field.

"Umbreon, I can see their tactic now. That Future Sight was what hit you before, and now Alakazam's just going to try and keep recovering until Future Sight happens again. It's the only way he can damage you," Silver said, and Umbreon nodded. "We'd better not hold back, then. Quick Attack, now!" Umbreon darted forwards, a silver trail glowing behind him, and Alakazam was battered away as the Dark Pokemon crashed into him.

"Alakazam, Recover!" Sabrina cried again, and once more Alakazam rose again, as good as new.

"Umbreon, keep it going! Faint Attack, and try and flatten him against his own Reflect again," Silver ordered, pointing towards the panel of light that still shimmered close by. Umbreon vanished, but reappeared almost instantly and shoved Alakazam brutally at the Reflect, continually shoving and shunting him into position as he tried vainly to protect himself. "Umbreon, Quick Attack!" Silver said, and this time he hoped Alakazam was caught off-guard; Umbreon lanced into the attack again and Alakazam hammered against the Reflect, whimpering and rubbing his huge head painfully. "This is it! Bite those spoons away from him!" Silver knew that Alakazam's spoons were a focus for his power, and prevented him from getting excruciating headaches from the immense amount of Psychic energy he channelled. If he tore them away, victory would be all but his. Umbreon bent down to wrench the first one away, and just as his teeth fixed around its handle the Future Sight kicked in again, blasting him off Alakazam and throwing him right across the field. However, he doggedly gripped the spoon in his teeth, and spat it onto the floor as the two of them squared off again.

"Alakazam, Future Sight one more time! Then your best Recover!" Sabrina said, and Silver knew that it was all or nothing. Alakazam seemed hazy and distant after losing his spoon, and seemed to have difficulty concentrating, but as the blue glow from his eyes faded Silver knew he had limited time in which to act.

"Umbreon, Quick Attack! Before he can Recover!" Umbreon charged forwards as fast as he could, and hit Alakazam squarely in the chest just as he started glowing. The white light flickered, then failed, and Alakazam struggled to his feet looking battered and worn. "Faint Attack!" Silver said, interrupting Sabrina as she gave the order to Recover again. Umbreon used his quickest Faint Attack to date, seemingly teleporting behind Alakazam and biting him on the back of the neck, the same way he had dispatched Gold's Alakazam. The Psychic Pokemon crumpled forwards and fainted as the oxygen was cut off from his brilliant brain, and Sabrina recalled him.

"This shall be an ironic finish. Espeon, I choose you!" Umbreon's polar opposite, the sleek and slender purple Espeon, took the field, looking far more rested and ready than the panting Umbreon that opposed her.

"An ironic finish indeed. Umbreon, can you battle, or do you want to rest for a while?" Umbreon thought for a moment, then defied Silver's expectations and motioned to go back into his Pokeball. "I'm proud of you, Umbreon. Using your head instead of your heart can be difficult sometimes. Don't worry, you can fight back later; for now, here comes Gengar!" Silver returned Umbreon and sent the grinning Ghost out into the fray. "Be careful, Gengar; you may be super-effective against her, but she's also super-effective against your Poison characteristics," Silver warned, and Gengar hissed in response.

"Espeon, start with a Quick Attack!" Sabrina started off the battle, and Espeon charged forwards, ready to fight.

"Gengar, Night Shade her head-on!" Silver countered, and Espeon's rush was halted as dark beams blasted from Gengar's eyes, throwing Espeon backwards. The feline Pokemon squealed, but landed firmly on all four feet.

"Swift never misses, Espeon!" Sabrina ordered, and Espeon opened her mouth, disgorging a hail of glowing stars.

"Gengar, stay put! Get ready for a Hypnosis!" Silver said, and as the stars sailed straight through Gengar, the Ghost Pokemon attacked Espeon with soothing waves of energy, trying to put her helplessly to sleep.

"Espeon, Sand Attack!" Espeon immediately turned her back on Gengar, her claws scraping the metal battle-field and throwing up a wave of sparks that blinded the Ghost and sent him reeling. "Now, Quick Attack!"

"That was a cool way of using Sand Attack, but I can't believe you still haven't remembered that Normal moves don't work. Gengar, show her the error of her ways with a nice big Shadow Ball!" Gengar created an orb of crackling shadows in his hands and prepared to hurl it straight at Espeon as her Quick Attack failed. However, Espeon's goal wasn't attack; she was darting around with incredible swiftness, simultaneously picking a spot to launch a real attack from and dodging anything Gengar could throw at him.

"Now, use Psychic on his Shadow Ball!" Espeon's fronds glowed as the cat-like creature stopped in its tracks, preparing to sizzle Gengar with mental energy.

"Gengar, she's stopped! Throw the Shadow Ball!" Gengar lobbed his orb, but Espeon somehow managed to manipulate its Psychic so finely that it made the Shadow Ball not only reverse its path, but build up even more speed and momentum on the way. Gengar fell backwards as his own Shadow Ball hammered him, and then the rest of Espeon's Psychic lifted him up and threw him aside casually. "Are you OK to battle, Gengar?" Silver asked, and Gengar nodded. "Start off with a Night Shade, then!"

"Espeon, use Psychic again!" Sabrina commanded, and Espeon used more mental energy to block then redirect the crackling beams of blackness, once again battering Gengar with his own attack.

"Looks like we'll have to figure out a tactic to beat this guy... or should I say, girl. Let's go for subtlety; Hypnosis, then Dream Eater!" On the other side of the field, it looked like Sabrina, in contrast, had abandoned subtlety altogether.

"Espeon, hit him with the full power of your Psychic!" Rather than turning an attack back on Gengar, this time Espeon was set for using the Psychic power itself to destroy him. The power emanating from Gengar's eyes was far too delicate, and the Psychic slammed through it like a battering ram, striking Gengar full on. The Ghost was lifted off his feet and seemingly wrung out by a giant, invisible hand which shook him like a rag doll. When the Psychic pulses had finished, Gengar was slammed onto the arena floor not once, not twice, but three times, building in speed and power each time.

"Gengar, return. You did well. I think it's time for Umbreon again... have you recovered, buddy?" Umbreon looked a lot stronger after his rest; apart from Alakazam's Future Sight, he had hardly suffered any damage at all, so he was almost at peak fitness. "Great! Looks like our ironic finish is up after all," he said to Sabrina, whose mouth curled into a small smile.

"Indeed. But which way shall it fall?" Silver had no answer to this, so Sabrina continued. "Espeon, Quick Attack!"

"Umbreon, counter with your Quick Attack!" The two Pokemon darted around the field, leaving silver trails behind them like purple and black comets as they tried to avoid their foe and attack at the same time. In fact, a Quick Attack battle seemed to be going on; Umbreon bit Espeon's tail, then was dislodged with a flick. Espeon retaliated by striking Umbreon across the face with her tail, just before Umbreon butted her lightly with his head. Both were using low-power attacks to try and distract their foe, diluting the full power of a head-on Quick Attack to launch small assaults upon each other as they ran. "Umbreon, Faint Attack!" Umbreon disappeared for a second before attacking from behind, although Espeon managed to twist out of the way slightly, and suffered only a slight amount of damage.

"Espeon, Swift!" A thin stream of stars shot from Espeon's mouth, and although Umbreon couldn't fully dodge them he did somehow twist and turn madly within the stream, suffering only superficial damage as they glanced off his skin. It looked like both Pokemon were trying to outdo the other; not just on a Pokemon battle level, but almost a personal level too. It seemed like a duel to decide who was the best evolution of Eevee, and who had the most finesse rather than power.

"Umbreon, Bite!" Umbreon managed to snap up Espeon's waving tail again, his sharp little teeth digging in deep, almost as if he wanted to rip it off.

"Espeon, Sand Attack!" A wave of sparks spattered against Umbreon as Espeon's claws once again kicked behind her, and the Dark Pokemon let go of her tail with a squeal. The two Pokemon squared off again, both injured but not severely.

"Umbreon, Take Down!"

"Espeon, Swift!" Umbreon ran forwards, ready to slam into Espeon, and was met with a hail of stars; however, he managed to force his way through despite the pain and knocked Espeon backwards. They had finally worked up to the more damaging attacks, and the battle was just heating up. "Espeon, Quick Attack, now!" Espeon darted forwards again, hoping to catch Umbreon unawares.

"Umbreon, Faint Attack!" Umbreon vanished and Espeon charged through the place where he had been, then slipped away as Umbreon himself reappeared and tried to ram her. Espeon and Umbreon continued their duel, Espeon moving too quickly to hit and Umbreon vanishing like smoke as soon as his foe made contact. Silver was about to order a Quick Attack, to catch Espeon off-guard, but before he could Umbreon did it by himself. The two of them rolled around, kicking, biting and scratching, and Silver was puzzled. Had the Psychic vibrations made a connection between his mind and Umbreon's? He realised that his shaky theory was completely wrong as Umbreon did the unexpected and bit Espeon's ear savagely. He hadn't even thought of ordering a Bite attack. His stomach dropped as he realised that Umbreon was going back to his roots, attacking without being ordered. Unless Sabrina was talking psychically with Espeon, and judging by her expression she wasn't, Espeon had gone rogue too. He had seen this once before apart from the many times Eevee had taken it into his own hands; Hoothoot and Morty's Gengar had clashed just as viciously as this before, and neither Trainer had bothered trying to give orders. However, the battle between Umbreon and Espeon seemed to be dying down, even stopping; both rose to their feet and stood in front of each other suddenly. Silver waited expectantly for Umbreon to charge forwards and attack, whilst Sabrina seemed to be struck speechless; something that Silver copied her in as Umbreon did completely the opposite of what he predicted and purred loudly. This was so completely unexpected that Silver nearly fell over with shock. Espeon was purring too now, and the Pokemon were winding themselves around each other. Their heads nuzzled together and they came as close to smiling as was possible.

"Both of them are unwilling to battle," Scott suddenly spoke up, and Silver jumped; he had quite forgotten that Scott was there. Sabrina and Silver looked at the sunglasses-wearing man and he flushed with embarrassment. "Well, they're obviously... in love with each other. They don't want to fight anymore. That means that Silver, with one Pokemon left, wins, no matter which one he picks. Default," Scott summed up. Silver looked at Sabrina.

"Er... is that true? Is Scott right?" Sabrina tried to look as composed as she could and nodded stiffly.

"You have lost two Pokemon, I have lost all three. You win, although more by luck than judgement. Here is the Marshbadge. This battle has proved to me beyond anything that my visions are not infallible. I could never have foreseen this type of ending to our duel," she said, and handed over a Marshbadge to a stunned Silver.

"Wow. I... wow. Thank you, Sabrina. We won a Marshbadge, Umbreon!" he cried, pinning the badge on his jacket, but Umbreon wasn't listening. He was still entwined with Espeon, and they were sitting together contentedly. "Umbreon, come over here! Look at this!" Silver said excitedly, and Umbreon reluctantly padded over as his Trainer knelt down, gesturing towards the Marshbadge. "Umbreon, are you OK? You look pretty tired; well, you must be, after beating three opponents. You and Gengar deserve a nice long rest, so return," Umbreon hopped out of the way of the red beam and landed beside Espeon protectively. "Hey, what's wrong?" Silver asked, but his question was answered by Espeon rubbing against the Dark Pokemon affectionately. "You... you don't want to leave her, do you? This is one of those 'love at first sight' things, isn't it?" Silver said with difficulty. Umbreon responded with a sage nod. Sabrina tutted.

"Love? Espeon, we cannot be dismantled by love! We need to be professional if we are to be a perfect team!" she said, but Espeon confronted her own Trainer, wordlessly explaining her feelings. "But... no! I cannot allow you to leave!" Sabrina said, showing emotion for the first time and running forwards to embrace her Pokemon.

"Umbreon, please... You're as pivotal a part of the team as everyone else! A perfect combination of six comrades! We need you!" Silver said desperately, but he saw that his Pokemon's mind was made up. "If you really feel that strongly, Umbreon, you should stay here with Espeon. Just... just be happy, OK? Espeon, you'd better treat him well, or you'll have me to answer to," Espeon squeaked happily.

"Umbreon cannot be a part of my team. I am a master of Psychics, not Dark types," Sabrina said disgustedly.

"He doesn't have to be on your team. If you'd just be kind enough to let him stay with Espeon, then we all win. You keep Espeon in your team, and I know that Umbreon's happy," Silver replied, his voice nearly breaking. He felt Scott clap him on the shoulder.

"I'll wait outside. Come on, Hypno," he said awkwardly, and he and the Psychic Pokemon left him alone with Umbreon, Espeon and Sabrina. Umbreon leapt into Silver's arms just like he used to as Eevee, nuzzling into his chest happily, and Silver hugged him back. Silver recalled their many adventures together; receiving Eevee from Bill, the disastrous Bug-Catching Contest, the many times Eevee had taken control of the battle, Eevee evolving into Umbreon, Umbreon battling his hardest and defeating Red's Alakazam, half of Will's team, and Lt. Surge's Raichu... such good memories. Parting with friends was always difficult, but knowing that it was for a good cause made it easier.

"Everyone, say goodbye to Umbreon. He's staying here for a while; for as long as he wants to, in fact," Silver said, setting free all of his Pokemon. The creatures gathered around Umbreon happily, remembering their own good times. The battered but conscious Gengar held out a hand, grinning, and Umbreon took it in one of his front paws, remembering their races whilst training and trying to outdo the other. "See you, Umbreon. I promise to keep in touch. Remember that whatever may happen, you'll always have a place on my team should you want it. Goodbye, Sabrina, and thanks for the badge. Keep my good friend happy, Espeon," Silver addressed the Gym occupants in turn, and then he and his Pokemon left together, saying their silent goodbyes to the Dark Pokemon. Silver knew it wouldn't be the same without him, but love was a good enough reason to part.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 20**

"So where are we headed next?" Silver smiled as Crystal gave her usual refrain on hearing that they were leaving a city. After defeating Sabrina, Silver and Scott had gone to visit Hitmontop in the Pokemon Centre, where he was being treated for his traumatisation and any psychological or physical harm he may have received from Team Rocket's kidnap. After another heartfelt goodbye from Crystal to Hitmontop, they had left the city as soon as possible; both had felt that it would make it easier to leave behind their Pokemon if they set off for their next destination straight away. They would, of course, keep in regular contact with Hitmontop and Umbreon, but recognised the need for them to stay where they were. Crystal had gone into transports of delight over Umbreon's 'engagement' with Espeon, and although she was sad to see him go, she said that true love had to triumph over all. Togetic seemed to be of the same opinion, and this made Silver feel slightly happier about it.

"We're going to a place called Fuchsia City. That's where one of Kanto's main landmarks is; the Safari Zone!" Silver said, and Crystal and Tyrogue punched the air together.

"Yes! How cool will that be? Just a few dollars, and we can catch as many Pokemon as we want! Actually, I've been looking forward to this ever since learning we were going to Kanto. I think we should have our own mini contest there; whoever gets the best Pokemon wins!" Crystal said, and Silver knew she was recalling their Bug-Catching experience outside Goldenrod City, where Silver had caught a particularly weak Weedle and Crystal had caught an equally pathetic Caterpie.

"Sounds good. But personally I can't wait to challenge the Fuchsia City Gym," Silver replied.

"Of course, and this time, me, Tyrogue and Togetic will be there to cheer you on!" Crystal had demanded a full description of Silver's battle with Sabrina afterwards, and had endlessly apologised for not being there, no matter how many times Silver said he understood. "What else is there to do there?"

"Well, to the west there's the Cycling Road, where we can rent a couple of bikes and travel up to Celadon City," Silver said brightly, but Crystal didn't seem too keen on revisiting Erika's hometown.

"Anything else?" she said testily.

"A Pokemon Zoo of some sort. Could be interesting," Silver suggested, and Crystal seemed to cheer up. They were travelling south through Vermilion City, then west, then south again down the boardwalk until they reached Fuchsia, planning to take the Cycle Path on later for an easy route back to Celadon. It was really weird for Silver to only have five Pokemon, especially as Umbreon had been in his team for such a long time, and when he released his team-mates he was always looking around for the Dark Pokemon before remembering. Gengar seemed particularly down after Umbreon's separation, as they had been close, but after Silver let the Ghost play a particularly intricate trick on him, he seemed to get back to normal.

"Hey, look at this!" Crystal cried suddenly. Silver glanced over to where she was pointing and saw an old fisherman sitting next to a sign that read 'Hire Fishing Rods Here'. "Why don't we stop and relax for a while? We've been walking for a pretty long time, after all. We can have an hour or so of fishing," she suggested.

"Good idea. Maybe you can finally put that Lure Ball to good use," Silver replied, indicating the blue and white ball that was still at her belt after all this time.

"Maybe. But even if I don't catch anything, it'll still be fun. We can see who can fish up the biggest Magikarp!"

"That's about the only thing we will be fishing up, knowing our luck," Silver paid the old man for an hour's worth of time with two rather dilapidated fishing poles; although they were assured that they were top quality Super Rods. They found a quiet area of boardwalk and sat down next to each other, dipping their toes in the water and flinging their lines out to sea in the hope of fishing up something interesting. Minutes passed in silence; the only Pokemon out of their Pokeballs were Tyrogue, Togetic and Wobbuffet, who was the only one they could rely on to be silent and still whilst they waited patiently.

"This is boring," Crystal whined after more than half an hour.

"You were the one who suggested it! We're meant to be relaxing, remember?"

"I'll relax easier when I catch something," Silver slapped his forehead.

"I paid for an hour, and we'll stay here for an hour, whether we catch anything or not!" he replied.

"But... What's that?" Crystals' attention was broken as she spotted something floating in the water. Silver looked closer and saw what seemed to be a blue sphere, and it was heading their way.

"Looks like a ball. Maybe Tyrogue can have a new toy to play with!"

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue finally broke his silence and leapt up to punch the air; however, this didn't deter the ball from its course. Suddenly, when the ball was mere feet away, it sank beneath the waves.

"Oh no! Sorry, Tyrogue. Oops! I've got a bite!" Crystal cried, the rod shaking and straining in her hands. She pulled on it as hard as she could, forsaking subtlety and skill for brute strength, and a creature burst from the waves in a spray of water and landed on the boardwalk next to them. It looked vaguely like a rabbit, except it had a long tail and smooth blue and white skin. There was a dazed expression on its face as it wondered what had happened. The blue ball at the end of its tail had evidently been what Crystal had spotted floating above the water. "An Azumarill! Isn't it cute? I've got to catch it!" Crystal exclaimed happily, fumbling for the Lure Ball.

"You've got to weaken it, remember? Use Tyrogue!" Silver reminded her, and Tyrogue stepped forwards in readiness, his fists raised. Azumarill hopped to her feet, trembled at the sight of Tyrogue and ran behind Silver, peering out from between his legs and shaking with fright. "Awwww! Hello, Azurmarill! My name's Silver!" Silver said, crouching down and coming face to face with the Aquarabbit Pokemon. Suddenly the creature's eyes widened, and abruptly its face broke into a huge smile. Silver could almost imagine its eyes turning into love-hearts as it leapt at him and entwined him in a hug.

"Azumarill!" it cried joyously.

"Humph! How can it be scared of Tyrogue, but love you? It just doesn't make sense!" Crystal said in annoyance. "Tyrogue, get ready for battle!"

"Come on, Crystal, can you really bear to hurt such an adorable creature?" Silver said, although he felt slightly uncomfortable as he straightened up and felt that Azumarill was gripping his leg as if her life depended on it.

"Let me think... yep! Tyrogue, Mega Punch!" Tyrogue ran forwards, his fist glowing, and made to strike Azumarill squarely in the face. Azumarill let go of Silver's leg and hurried away, chased by the Fighting Pokemon and squeaking in terror. "That's it, Tyrogue! Don't let it get away!" Crystal encouraged, but suddenly Azumarill leapt into Silver's arms and curled into a ball. Tyrogue's fist slammed onto Silver's forehead as the Water Pokemon ducked and Silver saw stars before falling backwards. When he woke up to an aching head, he saw Azumarill standing over him, a look of intense worry on her face.

"Ow... Tyrogue, that's some Mega Punch..." he groaned, rising up slightly and rubbing his skull.

"You were just lucky he managed to slow it down at the last second, otherwise you would've been asleep for a lot longer," Crystal said, and although she was smiling she looked sympathetic as she crouched down next to him. Azumarill's expression changed for the worse as she saw Crystal approach, and the ball on her tail began to glow white as she swung it like a ball-on-chain, whacking Crystal squarely on the top of the head in a perfect example of the Iron Tail attack. "Yow! That thing's a maniac! Tyrogue, come over here!" Crystal fell backwards, imitating Silver in rubbing her aching head, and instantly Tyrogue was in front of her, ready for battle again.

"Wobbuffet, you too! Stand between them!" Silver ordered, and Wobbuffet eventually crawled over; however, he was too late, as Tyrogue and an amazingly ferocious Azumarill were engaged in bitter hand-to-hand combat by the time he arrived.

"Woooooooooobuffet!" he cried exasperatedly, slapping his forehead.

"Don't worry, Wobbuffet. Return, I don't want you to get hurt. Togetic, is there any way you can calm things down?" Silver asked the creature on his shoulder, who merely shrugged. "Great. Azumarill, please stop!" Silver said in a last ditch attempt to cease hostilities. Azumarill hopped away from Tyrogue and ran back to Silver, turning on the doe-eyes again as she grabbed his leg lovingly. Crystal tutted angrily.

"Tyrogue was winning back there! Anyway, I don't think I want it anymore. I'll reserve the Lure Ball for a Pokemon who doesn't go crazy over my best friend at first sight," she said, hand on hips, and for some reason Togetic found this intensely amusing.

"Azumarill, please! We've got to go to Fuchsia City, and I don't want to drag you away from your home. I've already got a full team, when you count Umbreon, so I can't even catch you myself. I'm really sorry, but we have to go," Silver said, prying Azumarill from his leg as gently but firmly as he could and flopping her down on the boardwalk. They gave the rods back to the fisherman and saw that Azumarill was gazing after them, her eyes tearful and quivering.

"Ah well. Parting is such sweet sorrow," Crystal said sarcastically, not sounding the least bit sorry.

"You may not like her, but it's not fair to break someone's heart so casually. Bye, Azumarill!" Silver admonished her, waving to the Water Pokemon, who leapt back into the sea in despair.

"I think I would've preferred a Magikarp," Crystal said, looking at the place where the Water Pokemon stood a second before.

"Magikarp evolves into a super-powerful Gyarados, anyway," Silver reminded her. They walked past another fisherman further down the boardwalk, and stood and watched as he pulled in what promised to be a huge catch. "Maybe this will be a Gyarados," Silver said hopefully.

"Some people get all the luck," Crystal said, but suddenly none other than Azumarill burst from the water, landing next to the fisherman in a daze. When she laid eyes upon the man who had fished her up, she went starry-eyed again, and grabbed him in a tight embrace. Crystal burst out laughing as Silver sighed and hunched over in despair. "Well well well. 'Break someone's heart' indeed. Look at her! She's like it with everyone! Come on, Romeo, let's get to Fuchsia City and some sanity," she said with amusement, dragging Silver away as Togetic squeaked with laughter.

"Some people get all the luck... it looks like we get all the _bad_ luck," Silver moaned.

"Oh, pull yourself together! You were all set for your Gym battle just an hour ago. Just blot this from your memory and you'll be fine. I wonder who you'll be up against in Fuchsia City?" This perked Silver up again as Azumarill and her new love object faded from view.

"I don't know, but Scott will tell me, I'm sure! Whoever it is, they'd better watch out!"

"That's the spirit! The Safari Zone and the Zoo had better watch out as well, because a new champion will soon be in town!"

"Yep, by the name of Silver, from New Bark Town!"

"Who's the apprentice of the real champion, Crystal, from Violet City!" Their bickering, as ever, continued all the way to Fuchsia City, where yet more new and exciting experiences awaited.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 21**

"WHA....?!" Crystal's face was frozen for a few seconds in an expression of wide-eyed, open-mouthed, shocked disbelief as she heard the price for twenty minutes in the Safari Zone.

"I don't know if you heard us right," Silver said to the attendant behind the desk quickly. "We want twenty _minutes_. _Minutes_, not hours," he added, hoping to get the message across this time.

"Oh, _twenty_ minutes? I'm so sorry. I thought you said _ten_ minutes. Well, that will, of course, double the price of the excursion," the attendant said with a vacuous smile. Silver and Crystal turned to each other, a faint vestige of her shocked expression still on Crystal's face.

"Er... we're just going to discuss this," Silver explained, then dragged Crystal away into the corner. "I didn't expect it to be so expensive," he cut straight to the chase.

"Neither did I. I suppose they're trying to make money off those fair-weather tourists who only visit in summer, rather than true tourists like me who visit come rain or shine!" Crystal said, looking fierce for a moment.

"I think if I asked my mum for the money she'd saved up for me, she'd have to use up her own savings and sell the house too to pay for twenty minutes," Silver joked, and Crystal smiled weakly.

"I don't think I'll ask my parents, either. I don't want them to disown me. So, let's pool our disposable money and see how long it will get us, shall we?"

"Good idea. And if it gets us five seconds or less, we won't bother, right?"

"Right," They counted out several notes that wouldn't be needed for food or supplies and piled them all together before slapping them down on the attendant's desk. "How long can we have with this much?" Crystal asked hopefully. The attendant flicked through the notes and counted the money intently.

"Approximately five minutes and forty five seconds. But that's only approximate," they eventually said. "Will you be participating today?" Silver and Crystal looked at each other again.

"D'you want to?" Silver asked.

"I don't know how much we can accomplish in five minutes, but we can still have the experience," she replied, then turned to the attendant. "Come on, then. We'll have our five minutes,"

"Excellent. Here are some Safari Balls for you. Your Pokegear should chime when it's time for you to leave. People who stay over the time limit are open for fines, prosecutions and unlimited prison sentences," the attendant replied cheerfully, handing over several green and white Pokeballs, oblivious to their looks of shock and horror. They walked through a large red door, then through several layers of drapes which prevented Pokemon escaping, then they emerged in the Safari Zone. It was a wide expanse of land with lakes, bushes, trees and even what looked like a small patch of rocky, desert-like land; a collection of habitats for many Pokemon types.

"Let's get going. Which habitat do you want to go for?" Silver asked.

"One that's close by. We don't want to trek all the way over there then run out of time. How about that patch of long grass?" Crystal suggested, pointing towards a thick swathe of grass nearby.

"Sounds like a plan," Silver agreed, and they tentatively entered the long grass, pushing it aside as they searched around for any rare Pokemon that may be lurking within. "I wonder what sort of Pokemon we'll see?" he murmured to Crystal, but when he turned he saw that they'd been separated somehow. "Oh no! I hope we'll be able to find our way out of here in time, Togetic. I don't think we'd survive in prison," he said, and Togetic stroked his cheek peacefully. He was painfully aware of the time ticking away and was ever-alert for the chime that was bursting to ring from his Pokegear at any moment. Despairing as he saw no Pokemon, he thrashed around desperately, trying to scare some out into the open. He'd even accept a Weedle at this point in time. All of a sudden, his prayers were answered; the grass shivered to his left, and he hurled a Pokeball in that direction with all of his strength. Suddenly, something burst from the grass nearby and smacked him fully in the face, causing him to recoil and clutch his aching nose as he heard someone cry,

"Ouch!" Dreading what he was about to see, Silver pushed aside the grass to see Crystal standing there, rubbing her shoulder. Both of them had hurled their Safari Balls at each other, thinking that they had heard a rare Pokemon nearby.

"Perfect. We're in a Pokemon reserve full of rare creatures, and I end up almost capturing Crystal, as well as a broken nose," Silver said sarcastically.

"Well maybe if you hadn't been thrashing around like an injured Seel, I wouldn't have lobbed my Pokeball at you," Crystal retorted, picking up Silver's Safari Ball and handing it back to him as he did the same. All of a sudden, both of them winced as Silver's Pokegear sounded off a bell-like note, signalling the end of their Safari Zone antics.

"Noctowl, come out! Can you fly above us and lead us out of this grass?" Silver released the owl Pokemon hopelessly, and Noctowl guided them out of the long grassy maze; the exit of which was just a metre to Silver's left. The two Trainers shook scraps of grass off their clothes and rubbed their injuries bitterly, muttering under their breath at the contrived and all-too-expensive Safari Zone that had consumed so much of their money. When they exited, Silver dragging away Crystal as she looked set to pummel the attendant (who had said "Thank you for visiting, and have a nice day!"), they spotted a poster on the wall outside. 'Visit the Safari Zone hotel to make your experience complete! We accept Pokemon as well as people, so please come and have fun in our themed dormitories!' it read.

"Silver, we've got to go!" Crystal said enthusiastically, causing Silver to stop in his tracks.

"What? You want us to spend more money on a hotel that's based on the Safari Zone? The same Safari Zone that we just screwed up in?" he asked in disbelief.

"But it says 'to make your experience complete!'. I want to make my experience complete, so I'm going there whether you like it or not," Crystal said, folding her arms.

"Why would we want to complete such a horrible experience?" Silver muttered, but he gave in as he saw the look on her face. "Oh, fine then. People like you are gold dust to these attraction owners," he grumbled, and allowed her to drag him away to the Safari Zone hotel just down the road.

"We'll only be here for a night or two, anyway, so it shouldn't cost too much," Crystal assured him as they entered the jungle-decorated lobby. A fake Taurus stood beside the desk, behind which was a man dressed in explorer's clothes.

"What may I do for you today?" he asked brightly.

"We'd like a room for two, please. And breakfast. Room service would be good, too. And we're staying for two nights," Crystal said quickly, before Silver could speak up. The man quickly totted up the figures and handed them a bill, which Silver looked at weakly, the colour draining from his face. He was about to argue with Crystal, but then he saw the look on her face and mumbled,

"I'm just going to get some money from the cash machine," After extracting a large chunk of his savings from the nearby machine and painstakingly handing it over to the man behind the desk, the attendant handed over a key and said,

"Thank you. Please allow the concierge to take you to your room," A butler-like man completely out of place with his surroundings beckoned them on, and Crystal beamed.

"A concierge! That makes it all worthwhile, in my opinion,"

"I'll have to disagree with you there," Silver said weakly; a butler couldn't even halfway make up for the dent in his money reserves, in his opinion. When they reached the room, his misgivings were expounded upon even more. There was one king-sized bed and a very hard, lumpy-looking sofa, and he didn't even need to ask to guess who was going to have to sleep on the latter. However, Crystal flopped down onto the bed happily, and got almost insanely delighted as she saw the display of leaflets and booklets that someone had left on the desk.

"These people really know how to treat a guest! Look, here's one about the Gym!" Crystal said, throwing one over to Silver, but he didn't catch it.

"I think I'll leave it this time. You know how touchy Scott can be about being replaced. Go, everyone, and have a look at your very temporary home," he said, releasing his Pokemon to see if they could provide some succour. However, they seemed almost as happy as Crystal with the arrangements. Noctowl landed on a perch that swung from the ceiling, especially made for bird Pokemon, and turned his head a hundred and eighty degrees in celebration. Politoed relaxed in the huge bath tub, filling it with water and floating on his back happily in contentment. Typhlosion curled up on the bed, which for once was just about big enough for him, and set about warming it up for Crystal for the night ahead. Gengar melded with the dark leaf-patterned wallpaper, with only his red eyes and wide grin visible as he planned new mischief. The only one who seemed to sympathise with Silver's feelings was Wobbuffet, who patted him on the back in an uncharacteristic burst of movement as Togetic landed on Crystal's shoulder happily.

"You and Wobbuffet can go down to the lobby and get an extra set of keys, if you want. I might sleep in tomorrow, seeing as this bed is so comfortable, and I thought you might want to get up early for some training," Crystal proposed.

"OK, but you'll probably still wake up before me. You know how much of a sleepyhead I am," Silver replied. "Come on, Wobbuffet. Let's go," Silver and Wobbuffet left the room and wandered down to the lobby together; Silver's pace was reduced to a snail's as Wobbuffet crawled along slowly, but Silver actually enjoyed it. He had rarely spent time alone with Wobbuffet before, and admittedly the conversation wasn't stirring, but he liked to have at least some one-on-one time with his Pokemon to keep a good relationship going. "So, how are you, Wobbuffet? I haven't used you in battle for a while. Are you still feeling fit and healthy?"

"Wooooooooobuffet!" Wobbuffet cried, slapping his forehead, but there was a smile on his face that suggested the affirmative.

"We're going to the zoo later, so you can come too if you want. Everyone can, in fact," Silver broke off his conversation as they entered the lobby, and he spoke to the attendant. "Hi, can I have another key for my room? Me and my friend are going our separate ways tomorrow, and we both might need to get into the room at different times," he explained, and after saying his name and room number, he was handed a small golden key. "Thanks. Come on, Wobbuffet. Back to the room," Silver and Wobbuffet slowly made their way back to the room, getting lost and even separating at least once before finding each other again right outside the door. "Whew! I thought we'd never see each other again, Wobbuffet!" Silver wiped his forehead as he spotted the blue blob-like creature waiting in front of the door. Wobbuffet predictably made no remark, so Silver inserted the key and entered, stopping almost at once at the sight within. Revolving like a Hitmontop, Crystal was sat on a chair that span around, pushing herself off nearby surfaces to increase the speed of her revolutions. When she saw Silver enter, she let the chair spin to a halt, and her and Tyrogue, who was on her lap, looked up with unfocused eyes.

"Spinny chair!" Crystal cried with delight, giving him a shaky double thumbs-up, which Tyrogue copied as best he could.

"You're easy to please, aren't you?" Silver said with amusement.

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue punched the air, narrowly missing concussing himself as he dizzily stepped forwards off Crystal's lap.

"Are we going to the zoo, then?"

"Oh, OK. But I could do this all day," Crystal added, wobbling out of the chair herself and smiling.

"I know what to buy you for Christmas, then; a spinny chair! Come on, dizzy, let's get out of here. Guys, we're going to the zoo! Gengar, you're coming whether you like it or not, I'm not leaving you to wreak havoc. Everyone else can choose," Silver said, grabbing Crystal by the arm to steady her with one hand and scooping Gengar towards him with the other. Togetic, who had unwittingly come along for the chair-spinning ride, landed less delicately than usual on Silver's shoulder, whilst Typhlosion lumbered off the bed and growled his assent. Noctowl, on the other hand, was already asleep on his perch, so they respectfully left him to repose, but Politoed splashed out of the bath and raised his fist happily to show he was coming along.

"Woooooooobuffet!"

"I guess that's a yes from Wobbuffet," Crystal giggled, and the motley group left the hotel with as much dignity as they could muster with a mischievous Ghost, a dripping frog-creature, a crawling Wobbuffet and two, one Pokemon and one human, who were very unsteady on their feet. The zoo was luckily free entry, and they had a great time looking around at the various creatures on display.

"Look at this Kangaskhan! Apparently, the young one only leaves the pouch when it's three years old,"

"What about this Omanyte? A prehistoric Pokemon resurrected from a fossil. There's Kabuto, too!" They even stopped to throw food pellets to a big pond full of large, brightly-coloured Koi carp, sitting on a bench with their Pokemon crowding around them either sunbathing, trying to scare other guests, or swimming in the pond itself. They arrived just in time for a water show depicting many beautiful Water Pokemon showing off their talents, and even caught the last five minutes of a ninja show. There was a girl with black hair in the middle of the stage, with a Crobat on one side and an Ariados on the other, and she was surrounded by lookalikes that disappeared as her Pokemon's attacks hit them, almost like a Double Team. When there was only one girl left, the real girl, Silver realised that she reminded him of Koga, a member of the Elite Four.

"Let's have a big hand for Janine, the Fuchsia City Gym Leader, and her fantastic assistants of both human and Pokemon persuasion!" someone finally announced, and Crystal clapped as Silver was struck into speechlessness.

"So she's the Gym Leader! Well, it looks like she uses Bug and Poison Pokemon, just like Koga. It's weird how alike they are," he eventually said as the crowds dispersed.

"Maybe they're related. Well, if you could beat Koga, you should have no trouble with Janine, then," Crystal replied with satisfaction. "But according to a leaflet I read yesterday, the Gym's a ninja dojo! Maybe I can enter another tournament, or at least train there,"

"Cool! Good idea. But first my Gym battle, OK? We can cheer each other on," The two of them spent the rest of the day at the zoo together, contemplating their individual battles tomorrow and hoping that they could both feel the thrill of triumph rather than bitter defeat.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 22**

Silver was unusually woken by Noctowl the next morning, who landed on his chest and provided him with a quiet alarm. He rose up, clutching his aching back from where he had lain on the hard sofa, and looked over to see Crystal still splayed-out, slumbering in the huge king-sized bed. Togetic yawned beside him as he awoke, and fluttered up to Silver's shoulder sleepily as he crept towards the bathroom to get changed and washed. When he was fully kitted out, he recalled his Pokemon as quietly as he could and made his way down to breakfast, stifling a huge yawn of his own so as not to wake his friend and her Tyrogue up when they looked so peaceful. He was planning to find a deserted area, preferably a park or something similar, to do some training in before his Gym battle with Janine. He knew she had at least two Pokemon, Crobat and Ariados, so judging by their types and due to past victories, Gengar and Noctowl were both going to be used. Bug Pokemon were also weak against Fire types, so Typhlosion was another good bet. Either Politoed or Wobbuffet would help round off the battle nicely if they were called upon, so he felt reasonably confident. After a surprisingly nice breakfast, which endeared Silver to the hotel slightly, they found a secluded grassy area close by to the hated Safari Zone and began to practice.

"OK, guys, I think we should warm up for a while. Typhlosion, that shouldn't be too difficult for you, seeing as you're a Fire Pokemon... yeah, I know, it was a lousy joke. Politoed, you're looking good, try working on your jumps. That way, we won't have to rely on Waterfall all the time to help you dodge anything. Gengar, I know you're really fast already, but try to boost the speed of your Shadow Ball. Then we can strike unexpectedly quickly and hammer them with a great attack. Noctowl, I think we should work on your speed too. Try rising and falling in the air as fast as you can; that way you can really hone your Fly attack. Wobbuffet... you're always the difficult one, aren't you? How about some laps again, to try and increase your endurance. It's already incredible, but we can always improve. Typhlosion, you're going to race me. We've got to increase your dodging capability without using Quick Attack. I said without Quick Attack! Hey, come back here!" Typhlosion had already sped off and Silver put his head in his hands. He would find it difficult to keep up with the Fire Pokemon anyway, but he had no chance against a Quick Attack. "Togetic, can you look after my stuff, please? And keep everyone in line. I've got a Typhlosion to catch..." Silver dumped his backpack and jacket on the ground and got set to run after Typhlosion, but suddenly he heard a voice calling him.

"Hey, Silver! Over here!" He turned to see Scott walking towards him quickly, with Hypno trailing behind in his usual relaxed fashion. Silver waited for his friend to approach and said,

"Hi, Scott. How are you?"

"Not bad, not bad. Can't complain. I see that you're training at this unearthly hour, so I can only assume you're ready for your Gym battle?"

"Yep. What can you tell me about the Gym Leader?"

"Her name's Janine, and she trains Poison types. Just like her father before her; she's the daughter of Koga, who used to be the Gym Leader here,"

"I thought I saw a resemblance!" Silver realised, clicking his fingers, but a split second later he knew he shouldn't have spoken.

"So I've been replaced again. What was it this time? Another leaflet? A poster, maybe?" Scott snapped.

"No, no... It was by accident. Me and Crystal went to the zoo yesterday and saw her in a show with her Crobat and Ariados," Silver replied, backing away slightly and holding up his hands in a pacifying motion.

"Oh. Where is Crystal, by the way?"

"Still asleep. Yeah, I know, it's not like her, but the bed's extra comfortable so she's having a lie-in,"

"What d'you mean, the bed's extra comfortable?"

"Oh, we're staying at the Safari Zone hotel. Crystal said she wanted to, so I thought I'd better let her. Or suffer some martial arts pain," Silver explained, and Scott nodded with a smile. To change the subject, Silver said, "Hi, Hypno. Are you having fun travelling around with Scott?" Hypno nodded once, which was as enthusiastic a response as he was likely to get where the Psychic Pokemon was concerned.

"We're great friends now. He eats my dreams, I get a good night's sleep. It's a win-win situation," Scott replied in a satisfied voice. "So, when you've finished training, are we going straight to the Gym?"

"I'll wait until Crystal's up and about. She'll want to come to the Gym too. Otherwise I'd already be there!" Silver replied. Scott laughed.

"It makes my job worthwhile to see such enthusiasm about Pokemon," he said, but didn't expound upon what his job actually was, other than advisor to Silver. Silver and Scott talked tactics as the rest of the Pokemon trained, Typhlosion having darted off in a disgruntled way on seeing that Silver had rejected his company in favour of Scott's. Poison Pokemon generally relied on moves that wore down their foes or put them out of action so their moves could hit home easier, without fear of retaliation. However, they seldom had really powerful same-type moves such as Flamethrower or Hydro Pump, and their endurance wasn't the best either. The only Pokemon they were super-effective against were Grass types, none of which Silver had in his team, but he did have Wobbuffet, who was resistant to Poison attacks due to his Psychic nature.

"So basically I should hit them hard and dodge their sapping moves as best I can," Silver said.

"Well, yes, but that's basically what you do in every battle," Scott said almost apologetically.

"Well, no point changing a tried and tested tactic, is there? Hey, look, here comes Crystal!" Crystal and Tyrogue were hurrying towards them, and for some crazy reason Crystal had let Heracross loose too, as he was buzzing behind them. However, some of Crystal's training seemed to have paid off, because Heracross landed smoothly and didn't launch into an all-out assault on any of Silver's training Pokemon, or even Tyrogue, his favourite punch-bag.

"Morning, Silver! Hi Scott. Ready to go to the Gym, guys?"

"I can't wait! Janine uses Poison Pokemon, so we should be alright. Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"That bed was pure heaven. It was so chivalric of you to let me sleep there whilst you had the horrible, nasty sofa,"

"Chivalric? You got there before I could stake my claim!" Scott shook his head as the bickering continued, and herded Silver's Pokemon together as Silver and Crystal walked off towards the Gym without a backward glance. The Gym itself reminded Silver of the dojo in Saffron City, inside which Crystal had proved herself to be a great Trainer and won the dojo's symbol, stripping away some of its flagging honour. It was a large building, and antiquated, but it seemed darker and more menacing than the open, simple nature of the Saffron dojo.

"OK, Tyrogue, are you ready? Once Silver's won his badge, me, you and Heracross are going to do battle too!"

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue punched the air happily and even Heracross hissed in excitement.

"Gengar, Noctowl, get set! You'll be my front men today, so we should clean up here nicely," Silver galvanised his own Pokemon, who rallied in response and looked set for a fight. They entered the darkened Gym together, with Togetic perching on Crystal's shoulder as she held Silver's bag, and they saw that the battle-field was there, and it was deserted, but all around it were dark-clothed people training with one Pokemon each; predominantly Poison types, but Silver also saw an Umbreon and an Espeon that reminded him of his own Dark Pokemon and set him wondering how they were doing together. One of the ninjas darted in front of him, and when she pulled away her head-cloth Silver saw it was Janine herself, although she didn't look as much like Koga as he remembered close up. And wasn't her hair pure black rather than just very dark brown?

"Are you here to battle me for the Soulbadge?" she said mysteriously.

"I'm here to battle Janine, if she's here," Silver replied awkwardly. A quiet laugh came from a dark corner.

"You never were that adept at disguises, were you?" a girl said, appearing beside Silver like a wraith. She was instantly recognisable as the real Janine, and the imposter sloped away looking downcast. "Sorry, that was just a test for one of my apprentices. Ninjas must be like chameleons, blending in with their surroundings, before vanishing like ghosts whenever they wish," Janine explained enigmatically. "So you wish to battle me for a Soulbadge. I shall not disappoint you, but be warned: my father and my mentor, the great Koga himself, is a member of the Elite Four. He is known as the Poisonous Ninja Master, and he is one of their strongest warriors!" Janine took up a martial arts position, reminding Silver uncannily of Crystal.

"Yeah, I fought Koga. I knew he must be related to you, seeing as you look so similar," Silver replied, and happily reminisced about how he had used Koga's huge pride against him to wreck his carefully-planned fighting style. Janine looked surprised.

"You fought my father? Well, you must be good. I may not be his equal, but I'm sure if he can beat you, I certainly can!"

"I think you misunderstood me. I defeated your father in battle. It was a few months ago now," Silver awkwardly revealed. Janine paled.

"You beat Koga? Surely that is impossible... My father, falling to a young boy? I shall avenge his defeat here and now! Four Pokemon each!" Janine spat, and they took their opposite ends of the battle-field. "Crobat, I choose you!" A flapping, cross-shaped bat Pokemon emerged with a chattering hiss, its four wings working strangely together to keep the creature aloft.

"Gengar, go! You evolved after beating Koga's Crobat, so this shouldn't be too much of a strain," Silver said, and Gengar cackled evilly as he was released.

"Crobat, Supersonic!" Janine said, and Crobat's fanged mouth opened to emit a wide ray of sonic pulses that sought to Confuse and distract Gengar so Crobat could fly in for the kill.

"Gengar, counter it with Hypnosis!" Silver parried, and Gengar's eyes lit up as he sent subtle, soothing rays of mental power up against the sonic waves, creating a silent battle of wits between the two Pokemon. When Crobat's Supersonic began to steadily rise in volume, a horrible screeching scream that made all the humans cover their ears as the Poison Pokemon ramped up the power, Janine cried,

"Crobat, stop! Try a Confuse Ray instead!" Crobat stopped the sonic barrage and his eyes glowed red as he released two glowing, rippling beams from his eyes; focused and powerful.

"Gengar, dodge them! Then use Shadow Ball!" Gengar leapt away from the beams, which vanished as soon as they hit the floor, and hurled a Shadow Ball at Crobat, hitting him face-on and making him screech again, but this time in pain and surprise. It was clear to Silver that Janine was still stumblingly following her father's footsteps; no matter how much he disliked Koga, he had to admit that he couldn't see the Poisonous Ninja Master underestimating the power of his own Pokemon's Supersonic.

"Crobat, Screech!" Janine said quickly, and once again everyone covered their ears as Crobat sent out a blast of sonic energy which blasted Gengar off his feet.

"Screech softens up your defence, Gengar, so get ready to dodge again. Use Night Shade to strike back!" Gengar jumped back to his feet and pummelled Crobat with a precision blast of black energy bolts, sending the bat Pokemon into a spiralling dive.

"Crobat, up!" Janine said quickly, and Crobat pulled himself together and darted upwards quickly, avoiding the last of the Night Shade and getting into a prime position to attack. "Now, Wing Attack!" Crobat dived down towards Gengar, all four wings glowing as he prepared his attack.

"Gengar, he's wide open for Hypnosis! Then use Dream Eater!" Silver saw his chance as the glaring, unblinking Crobat charged straight at Gengar, and the Ghost Pokemon unleashed his most potent Hypnosis yet. The unprepared Crobat crumpled to the floor almost instantly, and Gengar was there waiting to rip his life energy away and replenish his own health. "That's enough! Now, blast him awake with a good ol' Night Shade!" Gengar obediently hopped backwards away from the twitching Crobat and hammered him with more bolts of blackness, sending his tiny body skidding across the battle-field like a broken toy.

"Crobat, wake up!" Janine said desperately, and Crobat somehow responded to her calls, his eyes flickering open blearily as he took to the air again; although it had to be said that his breathing and flapping seemed laboured. "Good! Now, Confuse Ray!"

"Gengar, Shadow Ball! Crobat's getting weaker by the second," Silver encouraged his own Pokemon, and for the first time he felt like he was truly in control of a battle. Crobat hissed and almost collapsed as another Shadow Ball was a direct hit, but somehow his wings kept flapping and his eyes kept focused as he finally hit Gengar with the concentrated Confuse Ray bolts. Gengar staggered backwards, his grin fading as his eyes grew unfocused and hazy.

"We're back on track, Crobat! Hit him with a Wing Attack!" Janine said, sounding more hopeful, and Crobat's wings glowed as he dived into the fray again.

"Gengar, Night Shade!" Silver ordered, but Gengar was hit by some sort of feedback as the rays backfired, knocking him backwards just before Crobat's Wing Attack struck true. Gengar flew backwards through the air as Crobat flapped away, getting ready for another dive, and he rolled across the floor for a moment before hopping back up. "Are you OK, Gengar?" Silver asked worriedly, and Gengar nodded once, having snapped out of his confusion already and ready to fight back.

"Crobat, that was good! Screech, then prepare for another Wing Attack!" Janine said, fiery eyed as she saw victory in sight. Crobat screamed loudly for the second time, knocking Gengar back off his feet again before diving in for another Wing Attack.

"Gengar, quickly! Dodge to the side!" Silver said, and this had the desired effect of confusing Janine, who was too slow to stop Crobat slamming into the ground as his Wing Attack missed. "Now, Night Shade!" Gengar blasted Crobat from the side as he groggily rose back up, sending him reeling again and battering the last of the fight out of him as he collapsed to the floor in a heap.

"Crobat, return. Weezing, it's your turn!" Janine recalled her fainted Crobat and sent out a purple gas-cloud that leaked wisps of toxic gas from its body.

"Hmm... Gengar, you'd better stay out. Noctowl didn't come off too well against the last Weezing he battled, after all. That is, unless you'd rather rest for a while? Crobat was no slouch," Silver said hastily, but Gengar smiled mischievously to show he was still ready and willing. "Good! Now, let's wait for Weezing's move. He's a pure Poison type, so he shouldn't be too much of a bother," Silver warned.

"Weezing, show them how wrong they are! Hit him with your best Toxic!" Janine retorted, and Weezing hoarsely murmured his assent, spewing out a noxious stew of disgusting poisons which drenched Gengar completely.

"Poisoning attacks aren't going to hurt you, Gengar. Attack Weezing with Shadow Ball, whilst he's not ready!" Silver said, seeing Gengar emerge completely unharmed from the Toxic. The Ghost Pokemon jumped up, a Shadow Ball crackling between his palms, and for once he slammed it onto Weezing in a close combat move rather than a ranged attack. This variation took Weezing by even more surprise than usual, and the creature reeled backwards, critically injured already.

"Weezing, no! Use Smog!" Janine cried, and instead of a vile liquid, this time Weezing issued out a swirling cloud of stinking gas that engulfed the Ghost Pokemon.

"Gengar, Hypnosis! And make it a good one!" Silver said anxiously as Gengar disappeared within the thick green fog. There was silence for a moment from within the cloud, then a familiar grin and two glowing red eyes appeared from within, assailing Weezing with Psychic waves. Gradually, the two sets of eyes upon Weezing's bulbous frame slumped and snapped shut as Weezing himself floated down to the floor. Gengar stepped out of the gas cloud lightly, as if he hadn't even noticed it, and looked casually to Silver for orders just because he knew it would incense Janine. "I think another Dream Eater would be a good idea here. Unless you've got any particular preferences?" Silver said politely, determinedly looking away from Janine so she wouldn't rumble his tactic. He could almost hear her teeth angrily grinding together from where he stood as Gengar ambled forwards to attack through Weezing's hoarse snores.

"Weezing, get up!" she cried, but Gengar's Hypnosis had been too powerful, and he ignored her. Gengar gradually, almost calmly, extracted Weezing's energy, placing his hands on the two heads of the creature and slowly refilling his own health until he was up to full fitness, at which point he hopped away and took up a fighting stance.

"Good job, Gengar! Oh look, he's getting up again," Silver said, trying to sound bored as Weezing painfully floated back up, awaking to a fresh feeling of pain.

"Weezing, let's show them what happens to people who get overconfident! Sludge Bomb!" Janine said, trying to keep cool herself, and a glob of black ooze was spat towards Gengar forcefully.

"Gengar, Night Shade it!" Silver said, and as the black bolts struck it, the Sludge Bomb exploded into a thousand glittering droplets that sprinkled around Gengar like rain. It was strangely beautiful in a way. Gengar was almost completely unharmed by the attack, and after sapping Weezing's energy he was able to ignore the slight damage with impunity. "Now hit Weezing with a Night Shade. But go easy on him," he added in a stage whisper, and Janine barely held in a screech of anger. It seemed she had inherited her father's foibles as well as his strengths. Weezing was pushed backwards by a weak blast of Night Shade, one which normally wouldn't have even registered but which in his battered and beaten state was just as painful as a normal Night Shade.

"Let's see if they're still flippant after this! Weezing, Explosion!" Janine shouted, and Weezing floated towards Gengar, glowing with power. It was better than Silver had hoped for.

"Gengar, stay where you are! Show Janine just how weak her Weezing's attack is," he said, and winked at Gengar, who cackled in response. When Weezing was less than a foot away from his foe, he forcefully exploded, mixing the gases within himself to power a devastating detonation that rocked the battle-field. When the smoke cleared, Gengar was still standing and grinning atop a defeated Weezing, whose released power was too much for it to bear.

"What? Why didn't that work? Oh no! Explosion's a Normal type move, which doesn't work on Ghost types. I was foolish, Weezing. Please forgive me. Ariados, attack! Redeem me!" Janine howled, and withdrew Weezing to release the spider-like Pokemon Silver had battled once before; against her father, Koga.

"Gengar, you were great. Maybe you can come back later. But it's your turn now for a bit of nostalgia, Noctowl!" Silver recalled Gengar and released Noctowl, who spread his wings and hooted triumphantly.

"Ariados, we can still pull this back! Show him how misplaced his arrogance is with a Scary Face!" Janine ordered, and Ariados scurried forwards, rising up in front of Noctowl to try and scare him into immobility.

"He isn't scary, Noctowl! Hit him with a Confusion to shake off his attack!" Silver encouraged, and suddenly Ariados was gripped with invisible forces, shaken around and tossed away with embarrassing ease, completely cancelling out any fear he may have installed in Noctowl already.

"We'll go for the unexpected, then! Crawl onto the wall, and use String Shot! Then Giga Drain!" Janine said, and it was obvious that she had some sort of elaborate tactic up her sleeve as Ariados scuttled towards the nearest wall.

"Noctowl, get ready for a Peck! We'll see what Ariados is made of," Silver said warningly, and Noctowl flapped up towards Ariados, his wide eyes glaring. However, before he could get into close combat, Ariados shot a web-line at the ceiling and swung down through the air, zapping Noctowl with green, sapping bolts as he flew past. When he reached the end of the web-line's swing arc, Ariados let go of it and sprayed out another one, until he was swinging all over the place and covering the ceiling with sticky, hanging drapes. "Noctowl, are you OK?" Silver asked, but the Giga Drain had been quick and hadn't done much damage, so the Owl Pokemon was fine. "That may have caught us off-guard, but I've got the perfect antidote to it. Use Peck on his web-lines and send him crashing to earth!" Noctowl hooted in response and darted towards Ariados, snipping the web-lines with his beak and forcing Ariados to barely reclaim his fall with quicker and less accurate blasts of webbing.

"Ariados, use Night Shade! Blast Noctowl into our little trap!" Janine said, and Ariados span in mid-air, hammering Noctowl with dark beams from his eyes that sent him reeling backwards, straight into several of the hanging threads, which trapped him in place. "Ha! Just like a true spider with its prey! Go in slowly, Ariados. We have all the time in the world for one last Giga Drain," Janine gloated, and Ariados slowly made a walkway between his strand and Noctowl's, shooting out more strips of web to support him as he crawled. Silver's mind worked furiously; Janine was trying to unnerve and aggravate him with her words, a tactic copied from himself, but this didn't bother him. It was the fact that she had outwitted him with a clever move, utilising Ariados' special abilities excellently. But perhaps she was now getting overconfident.

"Noctowl, try and struggle free!" he said. It was a dangerous gamble, but if it paid off the rewards would more than justify the means. As Noctowl got more and more tangled up, thrashing within the webs helplessly, Ariados rose above him again, his mandibles clicking eagerly as he prepared to rip away Noctowl's health. "Now, Hypnosis!" Silver cried quickly, and immediately Noctowl's head turned to an alarming degree as he stared into Ariados' eyes. His own saucer-like eyes were glowing with Psychic energy, and although Ariados tried to use his own power against him with Giga Drain, the type advantage won out and the spider Pokemon's legs curled in on his body as he fell several feet to the floor with a thump. "Excellent, Noctowl! Now, try and get free with your beak!" Silver said, and he heard Tyrogue cry out and punch the air happily from the sidelines. Noctowl started savaging the threads with his sharp beak, and soon cut them away. Then, spiralling down to earth as gracefully as possible, he set about grooming his wings until they were perfect, completely ignoring the slumbering Ariados and enraging Janine further. 'Noctowl really is a genius,' Silver admitted to himself, then realised that Ariados was stirring and Noctowl was looking to him for guidance. "Try a Fly attack, but avoid those web strands as best you can," he advised, and Noctowl climbed into the air as Ariados flipped back onto his feet, stumbling around tiredly.

"Come on, Ariados! We had Noctowl beaten just minutes ago! Hit him with String Shot again and drag him back to earth!" Janine snarled, and a thin line of web burst from Ariados' mouth, arcing up towards Noctowl. However, the owl Pokemon was too fast, and twitched out of the way a second before dropping down like a stone and battering Ariados relentlessly with wings, claws and beak. Ariados rolled backwards, completely stunned and on the run after the vicious attack, giving Silver the time to think up another.

"Confusion again! Then finish off with another Fly!" He trusted Noctowl to figure out his tactic, and the Owl Pokemon didn't disappoint. Ariados was flung into the air by Psychic power helplessly, his many legs waving pathetically, then Noctowl darted up and slammed into him as he fell, knocking him for six. He landed awkwardly and didn't even stir once.

"Ariados, return. You were humiliated, and I feel responsible for it. Perhaps later we can make up for it. Venomoth, you're my last hope!" The moth-like creature took Ariados' place on the battle-field, his glittering wings flapping slowly and releasing a fine sprinkling of power.

"Noctowl, d'you want to keep going?" Silver asked, and the Owl Pokemon nodded once to show he was willing to battle further. "Great! Right, Venomoth's a dual Bug and Poison type like Ariados, so a Confusion should be super-effective," Noctowl's eyes and crest glowed a familiar blue colour as he summoned the necessary power to attack Venomoth.

"Venomoth, hit him with Toxic, quickly!" Janine said anxiously, and Venomoth flapped his wings faster, sending a wave of rippling, poisonous dust towards the stationary Noctowl. Luckily for both Pokemon, the attacks collided, and cancelled each other out; the Confusion pushed the Toxic back at Venomoth, who easily shrugged off its effects and awaited for further orders. "If that doesn't work, hit him with a Supersonic instead!" Janine adapted to the situation, and this time a super-concentrated beam of sonic energy was blasted at Noctowl from the fronds on Venomoth's head.

"Noctowl, Fly!" Silver said quickly, and Noctowl just managed to avoid it, although worryingly it left a dent on the floor where it impacted, such was the power behind it.

"Venomoth, Foresight!" Janine said completely unexpectedly. Foresight? What good would that do? It only revealed Ghost Pokemon, didn't it? Silver had a nasty feeling that it probably lowered evasiveness, too, so he said urgently,

"Noctowl, quickly!" Noctowl changed direction in the blink of an eye, spiralling towards Venomoth and pecking him viciously, whilst raking his delicate wings with his sharp talons. Venomoth was almost pushed to the floor, which would have been fatal, but Janine said,

"Venomoth, show him a Psychic!" Venomoth's eyes and fronds glowed as he gathered the mental energy around him.

"Noctowl, fight back with Confusion! There can only be one winner in this mental duel," he said to Janine.

"And it won't be Noctowl. Use as much power as you can, Venomoth!"

"Keep it up, Noctowl! You've got the type advantage!" All of a sudden, the Gym seemed to glow a thousand different colours as Venomoth unleashed a seething wave of energy, which was met and refracted by the blueness of Noctowl's glowing crest and the invisible power it controlled. Both Pokemon were unmoving, but the power that rippled through the air writhed and grappled like a living creature. Venomoth recoiled slightly, his eyes closed, and Silver thought that he had won, but suddenly the moth Pokemon's eyes forced themselves open and were glowing with more unrestrained power than ever, blasting through Noctowl's Confusion and seizing him in an iron grip. Noctowl was shaken about by the attack and battered with unrelenting pulses of mental energy that made the air around him crackle.

"Finish him off, Venomoth!" Janine said triumphantly, and Noctowl was slammed unceremoniously to the ground, Venomoth manipulating him so he landed head first.

"Noctow, return. You still hurt Venomoth before, so well done. Gengar, let's see if you can finish him off!" Gengar again took the field, looking more mischievous than ever.

"What's this? Our foe has made a fatal mistake! Gengar is weak against Psychic attacks! Venomoth, one more Psychic to finish off Gengar!" Janine said with relish.

"Gengar, dodge it! Keep dodging as if your life depended on it!" Silver urged, and Gengar darted around with his legendary swiftness, making it hard for Venomoth to pin him down with his amassed Psychic energy. After a few minutes of failed attacks, Janine was angry again, and made the very mistake which Silver had bargained for.

"Venomoth, make it as wide as possible! Cover the whole battle-field if necessary!" Janine cried, and Venomoth expanded the range of his Psychic until Gengar only had seconds left. However, Silver knew what to do.

"Gengar, Hypnosis! Make it as focused as you can!" He had learned this tactic from Misty, the Cerulean City Gym Leader; Noctowl's Hypnosis had been diluted over a wide area, which allowed Starmie to strike straight through it with a Confuse Ray. Gengar managed to find one small pocket of the battle-field that was not yet engulfed in Psychic, and hammered through the spread-out attack with a precision Hypnosis that struck Venomoth directly to the face. His eyes snapped shut immediately and he pathetically collapsed to the floor, the Psychic energy vanishing instantly. "Now he's the one with the type disadvantage! Unless I'm mistaken, Dream Eater is a Psychic type move," Silver said triumphantly, and Gengar stood above his foe, draining his energy with his usual blend of relish and almost tenderness.

"Venomoth, please! Get up!" Janine said, and Venomoth spread his wings, beating away Gengar and rising slowly upwards, looking like he hadn't slept in years. "Good! Now, Foresight!" A red beam again swept from Venomoth's fronds, bathing Gengar, but Silver let it happen; after all, it didn't do any damage, and Psychic would have hit him anyway. Instead, he planned for attack.

"Gengar, Shadow Ball, whilst he wastes his time with Foresight!" Gengar hurled a Shadow Ball with uncommon speed, which showed that at least some of his training had paid off, and it struck Venomoth full-on, making him buzz with pain; an outward reaction for the first time, which showed that he was feeling the pinch.

"Venomoth, Toxic!" Janine said, then her face transformed into a mask of horror. "No! Stop! It won't work!"

"Gengar, now! Night Shade, let's go!" Gengar struck Venomoth brutally with his black, crackling beams, taking advantage of his momentary indecision, and the moth Pokemon finally gave up and spiralled to the floor, his eyes rolling as he conceded defeat.

"Venomoth, return. That was completely my fault; just one Psychic, and you would have defeated him. Well, Silver, here is your Soulbadge. I see now that I was even less adequate than my father before me; I did not take down a single Pokemon of yours," Janine said regretfully, handing over a pretty badge, which Silver clipped next to the others.

"You and your father were both worthy adversaries, Janine. Don't beat yourself up over it. Gengar, look! We won a Soulbadge!" Silver said delightedly, and Gengar stretched himself upwards and pulled his most grotesque face in celebration. "Janine, can I ask you one favour?"

"If you must. You provided me with excellent training, whatever the result was," Janine said.

"Can my friend here train with you? She loves different aspects of training up both her body and the Pokemon's, so I'd really appreciate it,"

"Certainly, although this school may be beyond brutish Fighting types," Janine said condescendingly as Crystal and Tyrogue approached. Tyrogue, apparently, had heard what Janine had said, but responded with a not unexpected,

"Tyrogue!"


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 23**

Silver snapped out of his daze as Crystal punched him lightly on the shoulder. He had been staring at his shiny new Soulbadge, only a few minutes old, and was oblivious to everything else.

"Come on, Silver! Aren't you training as well?" Crystal snapped.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, you're doing some ninja training, aren't you. Do you know whether you'll be entering a tournament or anything today?"

"No, there isn't one on offer. I don't think I'd win, anyway; I doubt Heracross and Tyrogue are quite ninja material," she jerked her thumb behind her to indicate the two Pokemon, who was scuffling on the ground as Heracross launched his usual attack.

"So when you're done with your training, we can leave for... wherever we're headed next. Cinnabar Island, I think,"

"What, the one that got blown up by the volcano?" Silver slapped his forehead in shock as he remembered.

"Oh yeah! Where will the Gym Leader be, then?" Crystal shrugged and dragged him over to the middle of the floor, where the training was beginning.

"The true ninja must have complete inner calm," Janine started, walking down the row of apprentices. "They must be collected and tranquil in mind and heart whatever faces them, for only poor plans are born from disturbed thoughts. Some of you may be able to master this well. Others..." her gaze lingered on Heracross, who was being restrained as discreetly as possible by Crystal, "May not. To begin, we will sit down in complete silence for an hour with our Pokemon, trying to fuse our minds and become one. Only when both are in sync can true and beautiful victory be achieved," At this point, she avoided Silver's eye, having lost to him only a few minutes ago. The ninjas sat down, cross-legged, on the hard wooden floor, and had to sit completely and utterly still and not make a single sound. With Togetic on his shoulder, filling him with inner warmth and comfort, Silver found this strangely easy. Wobbuffet, of course, excelled, perhaps the best in the entire dojo. Silver doubted that even Janine could have sat so silently. Typhlosion, Politoed and especially Noctowl were also very good, managing to sit in almost perfect stillness, but Gengar was sadly on Heracross' level of ability, and couldn't resist darting around everywhere to scare everyone and disrupt their training. Silver was eventually forced to recall him in embarrassment, earning him noises of disgust from his fellow trainees, although Crystal looked like she was trying to stop herself giggling. Tyrogue seemed to have gotten the hang of it along with his master, whilst Heracross quickly went the same way as Gengar, back to his Pokeball. Hypno and Scott were also sitting there together, looking serene and calm, with Hypno as relaxed as he'd ever been. Eventually, Janine said, "You may rise," Everyone got to their feet, nursing cramps and muttering among themselves.

"This is really cool, isn't it? I've always wanted to be a ninja!" Crystal whispered happily, taking up a karate pose.

"I thought you always wanted to be a Fighting Pokemon Master," Silver pointed out.

"Same thing, really. Shh! Here comes Janine!" The ninja girl was walking up and down the line again, talking about the next aspect of their training.

"Ninjas must also be able to strike swiftly and truly, like a darting stork. Targets will race up and down the opposite wall, and you must strike them as they pass. Pokemon may use attacks, humans will be given water balloons. Any misses will be punished," She brandished a rolled-up newspaper with uncommon relish. Silver was disappointed that they weren't going to be using ninja stars or knives, but on retrospect thought that perhaps it was good that he wasn't going to be given sharp implements with which he had absolutely no skill in using. Silver, Scott, Crystal, Tyrogue and last but not least Wobbuffet were given water balloons, as they had no long-range attacks, whilst the others would suffice with Flamethrower, Confusion and a rudimentary Water Gun. They had to stand still and silently again until they unleashed their attacks, and any twitches or movements were punished with a whack from the newspaper to the back of the head. Suddenly, the wall was alive with targets; Spinaraks and Ariados with wooden targets on their back scuttled back and forth, whilst Ledybas buzzed around quickly to present even more difficult targets. Typhlosion blasted one with a precision Flamethrower, and the target collapsed in on itself to show that it had been hit. Janine sprinted up and down the line, dealing volleys of slaps with her newspaper as people missed their marks, and Silver's Pokemon, as well as Silver himself, suffered at least one newspaper blow each. Crystal had more precision than Silver, but was more overenthusiastic, and frequently threw them too hard. Tyrogue was even more enthusiastic if possible. Scott was more reserved, barely throwing any of his balloons, whilst Hypno merely stood there, completely at ease. The only one who didn't get punished was Wobbuffet, who somehow managed to hit all of his targets and used up all of his balloons.

"I must admit, this is pretty fun. But I think she's still holding a grudge about me defeating her, judging by how powerful her newspaper-slaps are," Silver said when they were allowed to talk again, rubbing the back of his head ruefully.

"Perhaps if you were a bit more ninja-like, you wouldn't have to get so battered," Crystal admonished him, having gotten off lightly compared to him.

"I don't know whether I'm cut out for this sort of thing. Ninjas aren't my cup of tea, really," Scott said.

"How can you say that? This is one of the best experiences we'll ever have," Crystal said, with a glare that suggested that it would be whether they liked it or not. Janine was once again patrolling, so they fell silent.

"Now we face our final test for today. Ninjas must be agile and quick on their feet if they want to be the best they can be. A slow ninja is a ninja who doesn't last very long. Just for today, I have brought in some very special guests; a group of Pikachus from the Power Plant. They will try to zap you with low-strength bolts of electricity, and you will try to dodge. The one who emerges the least singed will claim a prize," she said, trying to at least give them some light at the end of the tunnel. Silver felt a thrill of dread as the door opened and a swarm of Pikachus scampered in. He had been electrocuted only once before, by Gold's Magnemite, but that didn't exactly conjure up very good memories.

"I don't know whether this is such a good idea..." he said, but before Crystal could berate him, the barrage started, and all conversation ceased as everyone concentrated merely on survival. Silver knew how ridiculous he must look as he danced away from a hail of small bolts, missing them by an inch, and he accidentally backed into Typhlosion, which resulted in them both getting fried. Noctowl, strictly being fair and not cheating by flying upwards, was hopping around hilariously, whilst Politoed leapt and dodged with his prodigious agility, although as a Water Pokemon he was susceptible to their attacks and got hit more than once. Scott was running around with speed that Silver hadn't expected of him, whereas Hypno looked no different whether he got frazzled or not, merely wandering around in pursuit of his companion. Crystal ducked a particularly large bolt, but then wasted time by laughing about her supposed skill and got electrocuted by a particularly malicious or vengeful Pikachu. Tyrogue was good at dodging, but also wasted time by punching the air whenever he pulled off a particularly good dodge, which resulted in him getting blasted at least twice. Eventually, the barrage died down, and the ninjas were left to groan and slump backwards in tiredness and pain. Silver twitched slightly, still feeling the current from that last bolt running through him, and he almost tripped over a splayed-out and lolling Typhlosion as a gibbering Politoed stumbled past. Noctowl's head was seemingly turning back and forth on his neck of its own accord, and there was a definite twitching in his left eye. Togetic, who had suffered on Silver's shoulder, squeaked unhappily.

"Are you still sure this is a good experience?" Scott asked Crystal wryly, righting his sunglasses before Silver could look him in the eye for the first time. Crystal looked like she was going to respond, then she merely keeled over and crashed to the floor, wracked with the occasional spasm. Tyrogue took an identical position next to her, seemingly twitching in perfect time with each other. Hypno showed no outward sign of his ordeal other than a puffed-up and slightly smoking ruff around his neck, and Silver thought his eyes seemed slightly wider than usual.

"We have our winner! Please assemble to congratulate him as I bestow his prize!" Janine's voice cut through the pain, and everyone dragged themselves back into a line to commemorate the winner. "The only one to achieve a perfect score in every test... I present to you, apprentices of Fuchsia City Pokemon Gym, our victor... Wobbuffet!" Silver looked up, stunned, as she announced this, and sure enough standing at the front was Wobbuffet himself, looking as good as new and not singed at all. Everyone gaped seemingly at once, their jaws almost hitting the floor in unison. Wobbuffet broke the silence and proclaimed his victory with a loud,

"Wooooooobuffet!" and a slap of the forehead.

"It's a sign of the times when a Pokemon renowned for its lack of speed or agility can beat our finest apprentices. But Wobbuffet undoubtedly deserves the title of honorary ninja, bestowed by myself, Janine, Gym Leader and daughter of Koga, the Poisonous Ninja Master!" Crystal collapsed backwards again with shock as Janine applauded Wobbuffet on her own, seemingly oblivious to the astonishment of everyone else.

"Wooooooooobuffet!" Wobbuffet said knowledgeably, standing still and allowing Janine to wrap a black and gold headband around his smooth forehead as the rest of the ninjas recovered and dispersed, muttering darkly amongst themselves. Wobbuffet crawled back to Silver and smiled widely. Eventually Silver got his mouth working again.

"Well... Wobbuffet, well... Crystal, help me out here..."

"What he's trying to say... I think... Scott, you can take it from here..."

"Wobbuffet... _how_?" Scott's 'well done' seemingly got distorted in his mouth and came out as the one-worded question which all of them had wanted to ask. As they crowded around, Wobbuffet merely stayed silent, smiling and looking from one to the other. Scott sighed. "A good magician never reveals his secrets. Come on, guys, let's go. The Pokemon Centre and some well-deserved rest and relaxation awaits. Wobbuffet, a ninja... what has the world come to..." He seemingly said this last bit to himself, and he and Hypno vacated the Gym, heading off for some recuperation time.

"Don't listen to him, Wobbuffet. You make a great ninja. Way better than your Trainer, anyway," Crystal said mischievously.

"I can't disagree there. Good job, Wobbuffet! I must be doing something right as your Trainer if you're winning honorary titles. Although I must say, this particular title was unexpected," he finished, and Typhlosion groaned weakly from beside him. "Oh, right! The Pokemon Centre! Scott's right, let's go. Tyrogue's looking a bit disturbed by his ordeal, and I can't say I'm feeling any different. This was worse than the Safari Zone," he grumbled, and he and his Pokemon left, many of them limping.

"They're all wimps, right Tyrogue? Tyrogue?" Crystal turned to see that Tyrogue was slumped unconscious behind her. She sighed in defeat. "Let's go, Wobbuffet. I'd do anything for that headband..." she complained under her breath, and she and Wobbuffet grabbed Tyrogue's hands and feet respectively, dragging him out of the Gym and to the awaiting Pokemon Centre that all of them needed.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 24**

"Cycling Path, straight ahead! Another landmark, which is also incredibly useful, linking Celadon City and Fuchsia City," Crystal said knowledgeably as they moved to leave Fuchsia City.

"And you're sure we can rent bikes in the guard-house?" Silver made sure; he knew they wouldn't be allowed to walk up the Cycling Path.

"That's what the leaflet said," Crystal responded confidently, and Silver rolled his eyes. That girl would believe anything if it was written in a pamphlet, leaflet or brochure. As it transpired, they were allowed to rent bikes at the guard-house – for a fee, of course. After parting with more of their money than they would have liked, Crystal claimed a shiny new bike whilst Silver was saddled with a rusted specimen clearly past its prime, although luckily it didn't collapse the minute he sat down on it. They wheeled their bikes out of the guard-house, thanking the bike-owner one last time, then came to a dead halt as they slapped their forehead. Ahead of them was the hugest hill they had ever seen, leading upwards in a steep incline that they would have to cycle up.

"I thought the Cycle Path led down, so we could just shoot down without even pedalling!" Silver cried.

"That must be from the other side. Imagine how cool it would be to come down that hill..." Crystal said.

"Unfortunately, that option isn't open to us. Thanks to another one of your leaflets, we've got a hard day's work ahead of us,"

"Hey! Blame me if you like, but never insult the tourist bureau!" With that, they began the dreaded ascent. The pedals on Silver's bike were already stiff, but it took more effort than ever to scrape them forwards to propel the bike up the slope. The brakes were almost constantly on, as they stopped for rests frequently, and the sun that beat down on them didn't make it any easier. Togetic, fortunately, was on hand to mop Silver's brow with a handkerchief Crystal had bought for him in commemoration of his victory over Janine, emblazoned with the Safari Zone logo which he so despised. Tyrogue was seated behind Crystal on her bike, but often had to get off and push from the ground, his boundless energy and strength proving very useful at times. They were going up the Cycling Path firstly because it was a landmark which Crystal was unwilling to miss, and secondly because Fuchsia City's port was blocked by debris from Cinnabar's volcano, which had somehow spewed all the way to the docks and covered them in molten rock. What frustrated them more than anything was watching whooping cyclists go in the opposite direction, speeding down the slope and doing wheelies and other tricks. One biker actually stood up on his bike's seat as the bike itself catapulted down the hill at incredible speed.

"Can we stop for a rest? A real rest, I mean. Sit down for some lunch or something," Silver eventually called ahead, and Crystal nodded. They dragged their bikes to the side of the road and laid out their blanket to sit on, eating a quick meal of their usual sandwiches and cookies. Both were tired from the trek so far, and Silver had gone so far as to take off both his jacket and his hat, which he almost never removed. Crystal was wearing Wobbuffet's ninja headband for safekeeping as well as her own, as Silver didn't want it to get destroyed if Wobbuffet was hit with a Hyper Beam or something similar. "Any idea how far we have to go?" Silver groaned as they packed up their stuff, ready for another crack at the hill.

"I'd say that we were a bit more than halfway. Or perhaps a bit less. I'm not very good at estimating," Crystal replied, righting her blue bike and inviting Tyrogue to take his seat.

"I'm glad we cleared that up, then," Silver muttered, and looked forlornly at his own mode of transport as Togetic chewed on a chunk of Pokemon food on his shoulder. The rest of the long, laborious journey passed with little incidence, apart from Tyrogue falling backwards off his bike and almost rolling down to the bottom of the hill, and it was with great enthusiasm that they emerged on flat ground and ditched their bikes at the guard-house without a backwards glance. "I'll never need any more exercise. That was torture, plain and simple," Silver grumbled, rubbing his aching legs.

"Be a man! I'm achy too, but you don't hear me complaining," Crystal retorted.

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue jumped and punched the air happily. As they laid their bikes against the wall of the guard-house and made to exit the other side, the guard said,

"Excuse me, do you have a Flying Pokemon of any sort?" Crystal and Silver looked at each other in puzzlement.

"Er... yeah, I've got a Noctowl. Why?" Silver replied.

"Oh, good. It's just that a Pokemon's blocking the way to Celadon City, so people can only get past by flying over it," the guard smiled and waved them on as they shared a dark, apprehensive look. A Pokemon blocking the way? Surely it couldn't be... But it was. For the third time, their path was obstructed by Snorlax, who was once again making a nuisance of himself by lying in the road. Crystal's eye twitched once or twice as they looked at the slumbering creature helplessly.

"Right. That's it. This ends now!" Crystal cried, pointing at Snorlax accusingly. "You've followed us around and got in our way too many times now! There's only one sure way to stop you doing it again!" Silver was speechless, but luckily Crystal yelled, "Capture!" rather than 'death', which was what Silver was wildly expecting.

"Wait, what? You're going to try and catch Snorlax again?" Silver asked, but Crystal replied,

"Silver, I advise you to stand back. Things are going to get nasty. Heracross, I choose you!" The Bug Pokemon took his position in front of Snorlax, looking pitifully small in comparison, but Silver winced on instinct anyway. Heracross plus Snorlax could never mean anything good. "Heracross, wake up the big baby with a Megahorn!" Heracross buzzed over to Snorlax's head and whacked him squarely on the skull with his glowing horn, a blow of incredible power that many of Silver's Pokemon would be lucky to survive. Snorlax woke up with a loud, angry bellow, lumbering to his feet and rubbing his aching head with a huge clawed hand as he looked around for his oppressor. "That's showing him, Heracross! Now, Fury Attack!" Heracross landed a flurry of punches on Snorlax's massive stomach, trying to wind him, but the huge beast merely absorbed the blows and swatted Heracross away with a Pound attack. Before Crystal could think up another plan, Heracross reverted to his usual self, and instead of waiting for orders he launched into a vicious assault of his own. His huge horn sank into Snorlax's flabby stomach as the Bug Pokemon used Horn Attack, but he ended being bounced back and subjected to another Pound. All of a sudden, Snorlax was looming over the helpless Heracross, and fell into an earth-shaking Body Slam. However, Heracross rolled out of the way just in time, then slammed another Megahorn onto the back of Snorlax's nearby head, forcing his face into the dirt. As Snorlax struggled back to his feet, his opponent seemed to be getting wilder and wilder, as well as stronger; with a precision Horn Attack, he knocked Snorlax's feet from under him, then battered his face with another Fury Attack. Then, incredibly, he managed to lever his horn under the beast and with sheer brute strength flipped him upwards into the air. Silver, Crystal and Tyrogue were speechless as Heracross buzzed upwards, taking the falling Snorlax in the chest with another Horn Attack. Proper attacks took a back seat to brutality as Heracross continued to pummel his helpless enemy with all the strength at his disposal, using fist, foot and above all horn to thrash him soundly.

"Crystal, quickly! You've got to call Heracross back! Snorlax will be beyond saving in a minute!" Silver said urgently, watching Heracross stamp viciously all over his near-unconscious foe's face.

"I... I..." Crystal stammered and Silver could see Heracross reflected in her large, uncertain eyes. Suddenly, she got a grip on herself. "I've got a better idea! Lure Ball, go!" She hurled the blue and white ball at Snorlax, and it flipped open and drew him inside. Landing softly on the grass beside a confused Heracross, it wiggled on the ground once or twice before the emitter on the front sealed itself. Crystal had caught Snorlax! "Heracross, return. You were fantastic!" Crystal said, recalling the Bug Pokemon and clipping Snorlax's Pokeball to her belt.

"Fantastic? Since when has fantastic meant insane?" Silver said, bewildered at Crystal's praise.

"Don't you see? I've got to tell Heracross he did a good job, because that's what he's trying to do. If I assure him he's doing well and succeeding, maybe he'll calm down a bit and obey me more," Crystal replied, and Silver had to admit that she had probably pinpointed Heracross' psychology well. He was trying to prove to everyone that he was a good Pokemon that didn't deserve to be left at the Day Care Centre and abandoned. That was why he was so crazy and unrelenting in battle. But if he was shown love and understanding, he would gradually get better. "OK, Snorlax, let's have a good look at you!" Silver, Crystal, Togetic and Tyrogue were cast in shadow as Snorlax emerged, swaying slightly and bruised badly from his encounter with Heracross. "Er... maybe I'll have a closer look at you at the Pokemon Centre, when you're better," Crystal said hastily, seeing the chance of Snorlax losing consciousness completely and falling forwards to flatten them.

"What can I say except well done? Another member of your team. Although he isn't a Fighting type like Tyrogue and Heracross," Silver said, trying to sound disappointed in her.

"Oh, be quiet, you. He can be my cheerleader, like Togetic is for you. I'll test him out in one or two battles to see what he's made of, but he won't be a staple of my squad," Crystal replied.

"Admit it. You only caught him to stop him getting in the way again,"

"OK, fine, that was that main reason. But he's resilient, too, and obviously pretty strong. Just not as strong as Heracross,"

"Who is?"

"Good point. Anyway, where are we headed next?" Silver checked the Pokegear to make sure that he route was correct.

"We'll go to Celadon City, then get a cab to Pallet Town. I know it's a long way, but after that horrible bike journey I don't really want to imagine how much walking we'll need to do to get there. Once we're in Pallet Town, we'll get a boat south to Cinnabar Island, where we can find out where exactly the Gym Leader is,"

"I don't really like getting cabs, but you're the boss. Besides, we've already seen practically everything on offer in Kanto. Just stay away from the Gym once we're in Celadon City," Crystal warned him, and he smiled embarrassedly as he remembered Erika. Celadon City wasn't too far away, and they had ample time to stop off at the Pokemon Centre to heal up their Pokemon before getting a cab back to Pallet Town.

"Oh no! Code red, everyone! We have a Snorlax!" the nurse cried as Crystal released her Pokemon, and several more nurses appeared with huge trolleys full of food to appease the beast's ravenous hunger, as well as some strong Fighting Pokemon to lift the sleeping creature to the check-up rooms.

"Just to warn you, Snorlax is nothing compared to Heracross," Crystal advised them, and one of the Machokes meant to be carrying Snorlax sailed through the air above them, hit undoubtedly by a Megahorn.

"Guys, keep an eye on Crystal's Pokemon, will you? Especially that crazy Tyrogue," Silver released his Pokemon and winked at Tyrogue, who punched the air happily. Silver and Crystal sat in the garden together and awaited their Pokemon, sunbathing and resting their tired legs. Snorlax was the first to be released due to the amount of care he received, looking much better after being patched up and being escorted by several nurses and trays of food. He sat down beside Crystal with an earth-shaking thump, dislodging her from her deck-chair and cramming the remainder of the food into his mouth with shovel-like hands. The rest of the Pokemon came sporadically, with Wobbuffet crawling in at last place and leaving Silver more astounded than ever that he had been named an honorary ninja.

"Heracross, return. Phew, that was close! He almost attacked Snorlax again!" Crystal wiped her brow and pointed to the sleeping Snorlax close by, with several licked-clean trays littering the ground beside him.

"Everybody, you can come back into your Pokeballs as well. We'll be heading for Pallet Town as soon as possible, right?"

"What about Snorlax?" Crystal whined as Silver stood up, recalling his Pokemon.

"What about him? Let's get going!"

"But I thought we were going to test him out in a battle!"

"OK, fine," Silver sighed. "All we need now is a willing Trainer," Crystal looked at him hopefully. "Oh no! No way. I'd use Gengar, and Snorlax wouldn't stand a chance. We need to find someone impartial," Crystal crossed her arms in resentment and looked around the garden for a likely prospect. She approached the first one she could see; a girl slightly older than her with blue hair, who was grooming a Ninetales happily.

"Will you battle my Snorlax, please?" she asked in her usual blunt fashion. The girl looked mildly surprised. "I've only had him for an hour or so, so I haven't tested him out yet," Crystal explained.

"OK, sure. Out in front of the Pokemon Centre, yeah?"

"That'll be great! Just let me get my cheerleaders ready!" The girl looked even more surprised at this, especially when Crystal came back with Silver in one hand and Tyrogue in the other. Soon, Snorlax was being released from his Lure Ball, and he lay sleeping in front of his opponent; a Charmeleon. "Snorlax, wake up!" Crystal cried, but she was ignored.

"Charmeleon, start off with Slash!" the girl said, and Charmeleon leapt at Snorlax, his claws glinting as he brought them down in a savage arc. Snorlax bellowed with pain and snapped into wakefulness, leaping to his feet and rubbing his scratches gingerly.

"Alright! Here we go! Snorlax, Pound!" Crystal cheered, and Charmeleon hissed with pain as Snorlax battered it away with almost contemptuous ease.

"Charmeleon, Fire Spin!" the girl countered, and the red-skinned Fire Pokemon released a swirling tornado of flames that engulfed and trapped Snorlax within its confines.

"Snorlax, no! Use Rest!" Snorlax was still invisible in the flames, but the small earthquake that followed showed that he had fallen to the floor, asleep again.

"He's asleep, Charmelon! Power up with Swords Dance!" Charmeleon span in a circle, his claws glinting again as he increased his attack power.

"That was a fatal mistake! Snorlax, Snore!" Suddenly, the Fire Spin was dissipated as a blast of sonic energy erupted from Snorlax's mouth, pushing Charmeleon back off his feet and damaging him.

"He's still asleep, Charmeleon! Another Swords Dance, then Slash!" Charmeleon once again span around, getting ready to unleash a powerful blow.

"Snorlax, Snore! Then wake up!" Silver thought Crystal was being very naive indeed if she thought that Snorlax would wake up on command, and although he did use Snore again, blasting Charmeleon off his feet for the second time, he stayed asleep. Charmeleon leapt in for the kill, and savagely slashed Snorlax with his glittering claws. Crystal's expression of resignation would have been funny if not for the situation as Snorlax resolutely slumbered on, ignoring Charmeleon as the Fire Pokemon continued to scratch him as hard as he could. Eventually, Charmeleon slumped backwards, sweating and breathing heavily. Snorlax's body was laced with dozens of scratches, but still he slept.

"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!" the girl said, and Charmeleon unleashed a jet of fire from his mouth that washed up against Snorlax viciously. And still he slept.

"Snorlax, get up! This is a battle, not a sleepover!" Crystal hopped up and down angrily, but she was once again ignored.

"One last Flamethrower, Charmeleon, followed up with your best Slash!" Silver had to admit that the girl was a good Trainer, and she was using her Charmeleon well, but the Fire Pokemon was visibly tired and after fruitlessly burning and slashing Snorlax yet again, he keeled over and fainted with exertion. Snorlax was asleep, but he wasn't unconscious; Crystal was somehow victorious. "Hmm. Your Snorlax needs to work on its battling," the girl said, returning her Charmeleon and heading back into the Pokemon Centre.

"Humph! She was the one who lost, not me! Well done, Snorlax. I think," Crystal said, shaking her head as she looked at Snorlax, who had chosen this time to awake with a huge yawn. "Use Rest again. There we go, now we don't have to put you back in the Pokemon centre's hands. Return," As Snorlax glowed slightly with power, recovering his lost health and dropping straight back to sleep, Crystal recalled him and said, "I think now would be the best time to find that cab firm you were talking about. I don't think Celadon City agrees with me," Unfortunately for her, and for Silver's dignity, the taxi headquarters were right next to Erika's perfume shop.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 25**

Pallet Town was just as Silver remembered it from their short visit there at the start of his Kanto journey. Sleepy, calm and quiet... just like New Bark Town, his home. But he wasn't here for reminisces. After an overlong and overpriced taxi ride, he, Crystal and their Pokemon had arrived to merely pass through on their way to Cinnabar Island, where they would hopefully find out the whereabouts and identity of Silver's next Gym Leader to battle.

"Can we go to Professor Oak's lab again? I want to meet the man himself," Crystal pleaded; the Pokemon Professor had been in Johto the last time they were here and they had had to settle with his aide.

"Sure. I don't even know if they do a ferry service here. Maybe we should've gone to Vermilion City instead..." Silver said, stunned at his own short-sightedness, and Crystal clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Yay! Come on, then, let's go! Hurry up, Slowpoke!" she teased him as she ran down the street towards the lab. Silver shook his head and looked at the Togetic on his shoulder.

"What did I do to deserve her?" Togetic stroked his cheek sympathetically and Tyrogue punched the air as they sped after Crystal. He arrived panting several minutes later, whilst Crystal was tapping her foot and not looking the least bit tired or ruffled. But then again, he always knew she was a lot fitter than him. He straightened up and held the door open for her, bowing ironically like a butler and waving her inside. She happily strode inside, Tyrogue right behind her, and Silver and Togetic slipped in as well, snapping the door shut behind them. The lab was almost exactly as they remembered it, which made Silver smile as he realised that Pallet Towners were as set in their ways as New Bark Towners. However, there was still crucially no Professor Oak in sight.

"Don't panic, he's probably in a back room somewhere," Crystal said, but she was the one who needed calming down judging by her fearful expression.

"Look over here! The three Starter Pokeballs. Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander... who d'you think you would've picked if you were from Pallet Town?" Silver said to take her mind off things, examining the shiny Pokeballs closely.

"Well, there aren't any Fighting types in there. I like Blastoise, because he's so big and strong, so I'd probably choose Squirtle," Silver nodded, remembering just how big and strong Red's Blastoise was. "What about you?"

"I don't know really. I can't imagine being without Typhlosion. All of them have their good points," he responded, stroking Typhlosion's Pokeball lovingly.

"Hello? Who's in my lab at this time of day? It can't be a Trainer, surely?" came a voice from one of the back rooms, and Crystal smiled as she prepared herself mentally and emotionally for meeting possibly the world's greatest expert on Pokemon. Through the door came a man dressed in a lab coat, with a rather stooped posture as he carried a pile of books. He smiled from behind his spectacles. "What can I do for you two?" The two Trainers slapped their foreheads as Professor Oak's aide greeted them rather than the man himself.

"Hi, we're here to see Professor Oak. I don't know if you remember us, but we visited a few months ago? We helped you rescue the stolen Starter Pokemon from Team Rocket, and set a Trainer called Yellow off on her journey?" Crystal said impatiently, trying to jog his memory.

"Oh yes, yes, I recall the event well! I'm sorry, but Professor Oak has just flown out to Fuchsia City to speak with the Safari Zone Warden about something," Silver discreetly backed away as far as he dared, fearing that Crystal may explode with the irony of their predicament.

"Fuchsia?! We just came from Fuchsia! Aargh! Come on, Silver, we're leaving," Crystal turned and started to drag Silver away by the arm.

"Just a minute! Excuse me, have you heard anything from Yellow yet? You said you'd keep in touch with her," Silver called to the aide.

"Yes, she's doing quite well. She's caught a few Pokemon, and had progressed to either her fourth or fifth badge last time she called, which was a few weeks ago," he replied, then was obscured as Crystal dragged Silver outside and slammed the door to the lab shut.

"At least some good came out of it; we know that Yellow's doing well," Silver pointed out as they strolled towards the beach.

"I suppose. I hope she flattened Erika good," Crystal replied.

"You'll never forgive her for disrupting my battle, will you?" Silver said, recalling how his affection for the Grass Pokemon Gym Leader caused Typhlosion to get injured as he wasn't paying attention to the fight.

"Nope. So, Cinnabar Island... should be good," Crystal said, changing the subject quickly.

"Yep. Hey, I wonder where Scott will be? If there's no Gym there, how will he know where to meet us?"

"Wait until we get there first. If he isn't on the island, you can phone him," Crystal pointed out, tapping the Pokegear on his wrist.

"Good plan. Ah, here's the beach..." They looked across the length of the tiny sandbar that constituted a beach and saw nothing that was even close to a dock. What they did see, with some trepidation, was an old man sitting inside a ragged old rowing boat with peeling paint, which was dragged up onto the sand to keep it from floating away.

"Don't tell me you're considering asking him for the boat? If you're tired out after a few minutes of running, you won't be able to row continuously! We won't get there this side of Christmas!" Crystal said incredulously, but he ignored her and approached the old man.

"Hi. We're Pokemon Trainers, and we were wondering whether we could borrow your boat to sail to Cinnabar Island?" Silver asked in his most polite tone. The man looked up at him beadily, tossing aside his newspaper.

"And what would you offer in payment?" he eventually said. "This is a quality vessel. She's taken me on many a fine voyage,"

"Right. How much would it cost to hire it for a couple of days? I don't know how long it will take us to get there and back, but I don't want to take chances,"

"You're a clever boy. But surely you've heard that Cinnabar's gone? Destroyed by its own volcano?"

"Yes, but there's a Gym Leader there that I need to battle," Silver said impatiently, gesturing quickly to the badges on his jacket.

"Ah, you must be talking about Blue. He was from Pallet Town, you know. A relative of Professor Oak, although I'm not sure exactly how. Probably a nephew. He's a real tough one, so I'd watch your step,"

"Thanks! But anyway, the boat..." The man accepted a small amount of money for the privilege of hiring his 'quality' boat for two days, and Silver and Crystal got into it unsteadily as he pushed it out into the waves.

"Just bring it back after your two days. If not, I'll hold you responsible for replacing it," he warned, then ambled back to his newspaper and splayed himself on the sand in silence.

"What a nice man," Crystal said sarcastically. "I suppose you want me to row, do you?" Her expression was so fierce that Silver wouldn't have said yes even if he didn't have other plans.

"Of course not! You're the one always going on about chivalry, right? Politoed, I choose you!" Politoed appeared and landed in the water with a splash. Silver chucked him the rope that was coiled on the prow of the vessel. "Politoed, would you mind pulling this boat to Cinnabar Island? You can stop as often as you want for rests," Politoed held up a clenched fist and smiled, just glad to be in his natural element. Grabbing the rope in his mouth, he sped off, much faster and stronger than any human swimmer and easily able to pull along their boat better than they could row it.

"Great idea! Just as long as Politoed's OK with it," Crystal said happily when she had recovered from the sudden speed boost. The journey passed much quicker than Silver expected, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. It was relaxing to be pulled along by Politoed, lying in the boat and looking at the sky or the crystal clear waters, picking out Water Pokemon they could see beneath the waves. Togetic squeaked happily from Silver's shoulder, revelling in the calm and relaxed mood, and it was Tyrogue who alerted them to the presence of land by punching the air and crying out.

"Well done, Tyrogue! Land ho!" Silver stood at the prow and acted like a sailor, but got nothing more than a sceptical look from Crystal and an amused chirp from Togetic. "I wonder what sort of Pokemon Blue trains, anyway. And I wonder whether he knows Red," Silver said quickly; he was eager to hear about personal accounts with the Champion so he could get a bigger picture of his fighting style and personality.

"You should be so lucky. It won't be long now until you're eligible to challenge him again," Crystal replied.

"I can't wait. The only thing is, I'll have to splatter the Elite Four again, which is pretty tiresome," Silver joked; the Elite Four had been incredibly powerful and he had been lucky in the fact that he used type advantages well.

"Don't worry about them. You've grown more powerful than ever in Kanto," Crystal assured him, and he beamed as the boat bumped against the beach of Cinnabar Island.

"Politoed, thank you so much. You were brilliant. You can stay out here and swim if you want whilst we explore," Silver said, and Politoed gratefully dove beneath the waves.

"Thanks, Politoed!" Crystal called after him, and she turned to examine the island. What was once a thriving city and centre of science was now a huge lump of rubble, a twisted mass of hardened magma that had crushed everything beneath it. No more Gym, no more Pokemon Centre, no more Lab. Just rock.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Silver and Crystal jumped simultaneously as someone emerged from behind a fallen boulder. A tall boy stood there, with spiked-up brown hair and a serious expression. He wore a blue, long-sleeved shirt, black trousers and some sort of charm or pendant around his neck. "Mankind and Pokemon work together to create works of genius, works of beauty, and sometimes works of evil or horror... and yet nature can destroy all of that with ease. The greatest scientists in the world once lived here. They succeeded in actually creating not one, but two Pokemon. Porygon and Mewtwo. They could also resurrect Pokemon Fossils. Bring them back from the dead... But when the volcano erupted, they were killed along with almost everything else. It's sad. Sad and strange," He shook his head and looked out so sea.

"Who are you?" Crystal asked bravely.

"My name's Blue. I'm the Viridian City Gym Leader. I guess you've come looking for me?" Now Blue sounded bored rather than respectful.

"Viridian City? The guy on the beach told me that you were the Cinnabar Island Gym Leader..." Silver said, although now that he thought about it, the man hadn't specified.

"He just knows I come here from time to time to relax. I'd better get back to the Gym if you're waiting for a battle. I'll see you there sometime. Smell ya later!" As he said that last sentence, he sounded cocky and arrogant, and he released an Alakazam without even looking at it and teleported away.

"Alakazam... I hate Alakazam..." Silver groaned. "Looks like another Psychic Gym, then. And here's me without Umbreon,"

"Maybe Alakazam's just a useful method of transport. Anyway, you forgot to ask him where Cinnabar's Gym Leader is!"

"Oh no! Now what are we going to do?"

"I believe I can help in that regard!" a voice cried from above, and a familiar lab-coat wearing, sunglasses-toting man was sliding down a nearby rocky slope towards them. He stumbled and fell multiple times, but was righted easily by the Psychic powers of the Hypno that trailed him. Eventually he skidded to a halt close by, shuffled his clothes around slightly to appear unruffled, and walked over calmly.

"Have you been taking 'cool as a cucumber' lessons from Hypno, or something?" Crystal asked, amused.

"Well, he's had an effect on me. What can I say? Anyway, the Gym Leader, I can exclusively reveal, has relocated to the Seafoam Islands. His name's Blaine, and he uses Fire type Pokemon in battle," Scott said smugly, glad to be of some pivotal use.

"Thanks, Scott! Are you going to come with us? Politoed pulled us here on a boat," Silver said, indicating the boat that floated close by.

"I'd love to! But make sure Politoed's not too tired; he's bound to be useful in this battle," Scott warned. It transpired that with two extra passengers, the boat was rather cramped, and as they sped over the increasingly choppy waters near Seafoam Islands, Scott pointing them in the right direction, the journey wasn't nearly as comfortable as before. It was with intense relief that they all disembarked on a tiny island, the only feature of which was a large cave in the middle of it. Scott importantly guided Silver and Crystal onwards, tying the boat to a big enough rock to stop it getting swept away. They found that the cave was lit with several dozen candle lamps to provide illumination, casting shadows across the walls. There was a crude stadium carved into the rocky floor, and an unkempt bed in one corner. Standing next to it was a bald man with an impressive white moustache. With his sunglasses and lab coat, he could have passed for Scott's father.

"A challenger are you?" Blaine barked, striding over to meet them.

"Y... Yes, sir. I'm Silver, from New Bark Town,"

"And I'm Blaine, from the crummy rock in the middle of nowhere. My house – my _island_ – burnt down when that blasted volcano erupted, and me and my Pokemon were left homeless. But don't think I'm about to relinquish my duties, oh no! I'm as ready for battle as ever! I hope you've got some Burn Heal in that backpack, because you're going to need it! Three Pokemon each," Blaine said, lamenting his situation before getting back to business and taking his place at the other end of the battle-field. "Well? Are we going to battle or what?"

_Continued directly in Chapter 26..._


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 26**

Silver took up a fighting stance at his end of the battle-field as Scott and Crystal took to the sidelines.

"Good! Magcargo, go! Incinerate him!" Blaine cried, releasing a snail-like Pokemon composed of lava and rock.

"A dual Rock and Fire type, eh? This should make things easier! Politoed, go!" Silver said, and Politoed emerged, raising his clenched fist as usual as he squared up to his foe.

"Magcargo, strike first with a Smog!" Magcargo opened its mouth and released a stinking black cloud of gas which obscured him from view, as well as threatening to Poison Politoed with its noxious vapours.

"Politoed, Waterfall over the Smog!" Silver ordered, and Politoed aimed a jet of water at the floor, sailing upwards and passing harmlessly over the cloud before speeding down towards Magcargo, surrounded by a globe of water.

"Magcargo, Curse!" Blaine said quickly, and Magcargo's eyes glowed purple for a second. Politoed's watery shield evaporated, although he landed easily enough several feet from Magcargo, whereas the Fire Pokemon had paid a physical price for stopping Politoed's attack, feeling his health drain slightly. "Now, Flamethrower!" A blast of fire spewed from the creature's mouth, hitting Politoed in the chest and forcing him backwards as his eyes closed with pain.

"Politoed, are you alright?" Silver asked, and Politoed hopped to his feet, singed but thankfully not too badly burned. "Good job! Try a Hypnosis to keep him in place until I can figure out a more permanent tactic," Psychic energy rippled from the swirl on Politoed's stomach, seeking to entrance Magcargo and put him firmly in the clutches of sleep.

"Magcargo, Smog again!" Blaine said, and Magcargo was obscured by disgusting smoke again. Silver could hear him slithering around and knew that he was preparing to launch another attack from behind his protection.

"Politoed, Surf!" This was his trump card, and Blaine knew it. The Gym Leader's mind worked furiously as he watched Politoed build up a wave, all but ignoring the Smog that swirled around him, then he shouted,

"Magcargo, wait for it!" This was such an unexpected tactic that Silver was instantly on his guard. Magcargo was much too slow and ungainly to pull off a last-minute dodge, and he had no hope of surviving an attack that would do quadruple the amount of normal damage, so what could he have in mind? As Politoed, rose upwards, perching on the crest of the wave which thundered through the Smog as if it wasn't there, Blaine expounded on his plan. "Rock Slide, quickly!" Magcargo moved with deceptive swiftness, blasting the rock beneath him to soften and crack it before leaping upwards and body-slamming it, which created a wave of hot rock which matched Politoed's wave in terms of both speed and power. The two collided with a great hissing noise and a blast of water, and a cloud of steam was thrown up that clouded everything from view.

"Politoed, Waterfall!" Silver cried, hoping that he wasn't messing up what was left of Politoed's Surf. However, the frog Pokemon launched itself above the steam, blasting one of the rocks that sped beneath him with his water gun to boost himself upwards, falling towards his foe in a globule of water. Magcargo squirmed and writhed with pain as the Waterfall collided with him, sending him flying backwards so hard that he almost left the battle-field. The steam quickly cleared to show a stadium littered with wet rocks, and Politoed was standing determinedly in the centre, challenging the weakened Magcargo to come back for more. Magcargo himself was groggy and disoriented after his battering, although as he heard Blaine's voice he came back to himself slightly.

"Magcargo, Flamethrower!" Magcargo blasted out another pillar of fire.

"Politoed, Body Slam! Let's Paralyse him at least if we can't put him to sleep," Silver commanded, and Politoed jumped over the Flamethrower with inches to spare, arcing down in a spread-eagled belly-flop that hit Magcargo directly. The Fire Pokemon seemed to pool outwards slightly as Politoed retreated, as if it had lost some of its consistency, and its eyes were unfocused. "Great! First-time Paralysis! The very best kind. He's ripe and ready for another Surf!" Politoed swirled another wave up, spewing gallons of water from his mouth to fashion into a daunting watery precipice.

"Magcargo, Flamethrower again! As much power as possible!" Blaine shouted, knowing that his Pokemon was now in no shape to pull of Rock Slide in such limited time. As the wave thundered towards him, Magcargo's mouth opened so wide that Silver's head could fit inside, and a huge torrent of fire gushed out. It struck Politoed dead-on in a remarkably precise hit in his condition, and the frog Pokemon was unseated due to surprise and pain. He landed hard on the ground as his wave disintegrated with a splash, and Magcargo stopped his attack to regain his breath.

"Politoed, are you OK to keep going?" Silver asked, and Politoed jumped up yet again, although judging by his pained movements he was badly Burned by the attack.

"Ha! You Paralyse me, I Burn you. Now we're level," Blaine said triumphantly.

"Not for much longer. Politoed, Waterfall!"

"Magcargo, Smog!" Politoed blasted himself upwards at the same time as Magcargo's mouth opened; however, the snail-like Pokemon was frozen in position, Paralysed and helpless as Politoed came crashing down. Water splashed all over Magcargo, made worse by the swift kicks and punches Politoed dealt before back-flipping away. Magcargo spread out worse than ever, barely recognisable as the fierce creature he was at the start of the battle as he fainted. "Magcargo, return. You did your best, and your Burn will eventually whittle Politoed's health down and pave the way for victory. Magmar, finish him off!" A Pokemon seemingly made of flickering flames emerged, blasting white-hot fire all around him to heat up his surroundings and make them more comfortable.

"Politoed, do you feel alright, or do you want a rest?" Predictably, Politoed stayed where he was, although he twitched slightly from the pain of his burns. "Magmar looks like a tough one, so we'd better start off with a Surf straight away," Politoed nodded his agreement and immediately started to spew out water, ready to form into another crashing wave.

"Magmar, Sunny Day!" Blaine ordered, and the Fire Pokemon spat out a small sun which hovered over the battle-field, making it hotter and brighter. This was a good move on Blaine's part; not only did it weaken Politoed, but it powered up Magmar too. Politoed's wave, when eventually it formed, was smaller than usual, and the Water Pokemon riding atop it not only seemed weak, but barely in control of the thrashing water beneath it.

"Keep going, Politoed! One hit with Surf and we'll show him that we're no weaklings!" Silver encouraged, but Politoed ignored him, focusing on holding the wave together.

"Look at him, Magmar! He's no threat now. Use Confuse Ray!" Magmar's eyes glowed and he hit Politoed full-on with two concentrated beams of energy, muddling up his mind. The wave collapsed completely and Politoed fell harshly to the floor, worryingly weak. The water that swirled around Magmar's feet evaporated into puffs of vapour as soon as it came close, which didn't make Silver feel any better about their predicament.

"Politoed, can you get up?" he cried, and Politoed dragged himself to his feet, trembling with the pain of his injuries but unwilling to go down without a fight. "Yes! Waterfall, let's go!" Politoed blasted himself upwards off the floor again, hurtling down towards Magmar in his cocoon of liquid with more speed than usual, powered by his desperation and determination combined.

"Magmar, Thunderpunch!" Blaine snapped, and Silver's mouth fell open with shock. It was, of course, the perfect defence against Water type Pokemon, who were the main weakness of Blaine's squad. Blaine was proving himself to be an exceptionally intelligent and canny battler. Magmar drew his crackling fist back, and punched Politoed just as Politoed himself crashed into him. There was a flash of light as the Thunderpunch hit the water, and when it died down a split second later both Pokemon had been floored. Politoed was so obviously out of the match that Silver could barely look at him as he returned him, whereas Magmar had been momentarily overcome with the feedback of his Thunderpunch, which had zapped him slightly as well as Politoed due to the water that had splashed all over him. However, Magmar got to his feet, and although he had been damaged by the Waterfall he was still more than ready to fight.

"Politoed, don't worry about it. I never expected Magmar to have a Thunderpunch in his repertoire. Hmm... I didn't actually think this far ahead. Who shall I choose? None of them are strong or weak against Fire types, so I guess it doesn't matter. Typhlosion, I choose you!" His own Fire Pokemon took the field and reared up on his hind legs, a fiery ruff burning into life around his neck.

"Good idea, Silver! Now the Sunny Day will help you too!" Scott said from the sidelines.

"Well, I do try," Silver replied, before wondering how he could have not seen that before. It seemed that luck was on his side.

"Magmar, another Thunderpunch!" Blaine ordered, and Magmar charged forwards, bringing his fist back again as it charged itself with electricity.

"Typhlosion, Magmar looks like a brawler rather than a finesse Pokemon. Dodge him with Quick Attack!" Typhlosion easily darted away from the Thunderpunch, leaving the crackling fist to slam through thin air. "Good, now Quick Attack again!" Typhlosion slammed into Magmar from behind, knocking him onto the rocky ground and sending him rolling across the floor.

"Magmar, we'll have to be more conservative in our plays, it seems. Strike him with a Fire Punch," Blaine warned, and Magmar climbed to his feet, and this time his fist blazed with incredibly hot flames.

"This is one attack you won't have to worry about! Hit him with a Strength!" Typhlosion roared his assent and met Magmar's charge with one of his own. The fiery fist slammed into his cheek, but he shrugged it off and grabbed Magmar in a bear hug, lifting him off the ground and crushing him. Magmar hissed in pain and struggled against Typhlosion's crushing grip.

"Magmar, Confuse Ray! Look into his eyes!" Blaine countered quickly, and Magmar gazed straight into Typhlosion's eyes, his own glowing with Psychic energy.

"Typhlosion, use your Strength to stop him!" Silver parried just as swiftly, and Typhlosion snapped his eyes shut, leaping up into the air before hurtling back to earth, using the momentum of the fall and his own muscle to slam Magmar forcefully onto the hard, cold floor. "Are you OK? Did he get you with Confuse Ray?" Silver asked, but Typhlosion spewed out a small burst of flame to show he was fine.

"Magmar, it's time for another Thunderpunch! We must go all-out and try and Paralyse Typhlosion, no matter what the cost!" Blaine said sharply, and Magmar hurtled towards Typhlosion yet again.

"Typhlosion, I think it's time to use that Sunny Day to our advantage, don't you? Flame Wheel!" Typhlosion released the swirling torrent of fire at the sitting duck that was Magmar, although the Spitfire Pokemon ignored them and charged straight through. However, Silver had expected this to happen; it was what came next that would really decide the battle. The flames coalesced around Magmar and forcefully exploded, lent even more power by the Sunny Day, and Magmar was sent flying towards Typhlosion in a daze. Silver had expected him to be blasted backwards, but quickly adapted his tactic; "Typhlosion, Strength! You know what to do!" Typhlosion delivered an earth-shaking punch to the Magmar that was blown towards him, sending him flying away and barely conscious.

"Magmar, Confuse Ray!" Blaine shouted as Magmar hit the ground, rolling backwards as his eyes grew hazy and his movements got slow.

"He's on the ropes, Typhlosion! Hit him with a super-powered Flamethrower!" Typhlosion doused Magmar completely in white-hot flames before the Spitfire Pokemon could even fully get up. Using the Sunny Day to increase the heat of his flames to incredible levels, Typhlosion unleashed a fiery barrage that he had rarely equalled in his entire career. However, Magmar still managed to survive it, although he seemed to have forgotten his orders and was looking just as disoriented as Politoed had earlier. "Quick Attack!" Silver commanded, and Typhlosion lanced into a tackle that finally put Magmar out of action, a wisp of smoke trailing from his snout and his eyes rolling as he splayed across the hard floor.

"Magmar, return. Typhlosion may be fast, but my next Pokemon is the fastest of them all! Go, Rapidash, my pride and joy!" A horse-like Pokemon with a flaming mane appeared, whinnying loudly as it reared up and flailed its diamond-hard hooves.

"Watch out for this one, Typhlosion. It's practically the opposite of Magmar; relying on speed rather than power," Silver said, and Typhlosion grunted his response.

"You'll find that Rapidash has power to spare. Quick Attack, now!" Rapidash moved quicker than Silver would have thought possible, nailing Typhlosion with a tackle then retreating back before Typhlosion had even felt the blow.

"Don't worry, Typhlosion. Use your own Quick Attack and show him what speed really means!"

"Rapidash, Quick Attack again!" The two Pokemon darted around the field, silver trails glowing behind them, and although Typhlosion was fast, it was clear that his opponent had the overwhelming advantage. Rapidash dealt quick, stinging blows as he ran rings around his foe, not overly damaging, but eventually they would all build up. Typhlosion nearly got a fix on Rapidash with his teeth, but the horse Pokemon vanished at the last second and attacked him instead.

"This isn't working. Typhlosion, stop! We need to think up a better tactic. Try a Flame Wheel and see what he makes of that," Typhlosion stopped in his tracks and blasted another Catherine Wheel of fire at Rapidash, who awaited his master's instruction.

"Rapidash, counter it with Fire Blast! That'll show him we're not playing around!" Rapidash unleashed a star-shape composed of writhing flames, which clashed with Typhlosion's wheel. Both exploded in a bright flash of flames, spraying embers everywhere, although neither Pokemon was hurt.

"So Rapidash can use some pretty good attacks too. Try hitting him with a Flamethrower!"

"Dodge it with Quick Attack!" Rapidash was once again nearly invisible as it sped around, but Typhlosion also had quick reactions, and managed to pen the horse into a corner, finally landing a proper attack. Rapidash neighed with pain as the flames washed over him, kicking with his hooves as if he wished to fend them off.

"Keep up the power, Typhlosion! This might be our best chance!" Silver said quickly, although that became more difficult as the Sunny Day faded out of existence.

"Rapidash, this is our chance!" Blaine cried, seeing the power of the Flamethrower decrease slightly. "Charge straight through those flames and hit him with a Fury Attack!" This was another unexpected tactic, so Silver was rendered speechless for a vital moment as Rapidash galloped straight through the fire and battered Typhlosion with a sharp volley of kicks that knocked him onto his back. "Now, trap him with a Fire Spin!" Typhlosion was suddenly surrounded by a wall of flames as Rapidash let loose a tornado of roiling fire.

"Fire Spin isn't that powerful, Typhlosion! Flame Wheel it!" Silver said, banking on one of his risky strategies as he usually did in a pinch. Typhlosion blasted out another fiery wheel, which collided with the Fire Spin in a blast of orange light and heat. His plan had partially worked; the explosive nature of the Flame Wheel had not only dispersed the Fire Spin, but it had pushed the flames outwards and knocked Rapidash off his feet. However, Typhlosion had been in the centre of the explosion, and hadn't come away unharmed. "Sorry, Typhlosion. But we needed the advantage, right?" Typhlosion reared up and roared again in affirmation. "That's the spirit! Quick Attack!" Just as Rapidash got to his feet, he was knocked off them again as a raging Typhlosion crashed into him faster than he could react.

"Rapidash, Fire Blast!" Blaine ordered, and Typhlosion was pushed away and badly hurt by the close-range star-shaped attack, which Rapidash used to get his foe out of range and allow him time to get up. Silver cursed inwardly; his whole plan had been to keep Rapidash from getting up, because what use was speed if you couldn't run? But now Rapidash was ready for battle again, and seemed itching to turn the ground red with his speed.

"Typhlosion, are you alright?" he asked, but Typhlosion was in worse shape than he realised; the Fire Blast was not only close-range and powerful anyway, but it had obviously been a critical hit too.

"Rapidash, it's time to end this battle! Fury Attack!" Rapidash neighed his assent and charged into the fray, hammering Typhlosion with renewed intensity as he kicked with his hooves. Typhlosion collapsed backwards after the barrage, defeated.

"Typhlosion, no! I must've really underestimated that Fire Blast, so I'm sorry. But you definitely weakened Rapidash, and you took down Magmar really well. In that case, it's time for my own Speedy; Gengar, it's up to you!" Gengar grinned maliciously as he laid eyes upon the horse Pokemon, who whinnied with contempt.

"Ghost Pokemon... I have always found them interesting, but I have never actually faced such a prime specimen before. Rapidash, Fury Attack!"

"Does nobody do their homework? Ghost Pokemon can't be hit with Normal type moves! Well, I shouldn't complain. Gengar, Night Shade!" As Rapidash's hooves flailed straight through Gengar, the Ghost Pokemon battered him away with crippling black bolts, although he managed to retain his footing despite the pain.

"Don't be insolent with me, boy. I merely wanted to see how exactly a Ghost does avoid such attacks, but it seems that you won't let me study in peace. Rapidash, Fire Spin!" It was Gengar's turn to be surrounded by the towering twister of fire, although somehow his glowing eyes and malevolent grin were still visible through the flames.

"This looks nasty. Gengar, Hypnosis! We need to get you out of there!" Silver thought he may as well base his plan around the unexpected appearance of Gengar's eyes, and was rewarded for his ingenuity as Rapidash finally stopped still, crumpling to the floor as the Ghost Pokemon soothed his mind into slumber. However, the Fire Spin still raged, keeping Gengar trapped where he was. "Gengar, I've got a plan! D'you think you can go through the flames without fainting?" Gengar nodded and pushed his way through the swirling wall of fire, getting quite badly burned on the way, and when he emerged on the other side his fur was smoking slightly. "Don't worry, help's on the way! Hit Rapidash with a Dream Eater to heal yourself!" Gengar zipped over to Rapidash and tore away his health more hurriedly than usual to dull the pain of his burns and restore any vitality he may have lost. When he had finished, his grin was as wide as ever, and his eyes glowed with mischief. However, Rapidash chose that time to stir from his sleep, and tottered onto his hooves weakly.

"Rapidash, end this quickly! Fire Blast!" Blaine ordered, and Rapidash launched another spreading star towards Gengar at fatally close range.

"Gengar, dodge through the spokes!" Silver realised that this may be his most risky strategy yet, but he knew he had made the right decision as Gengar actually contorted his malleable body to slip between two of the star's spokes, landing in front of the stunned Rapidash without having suffered any damage at all. "Shadow Ball!" Gengar created his orb of crackling shadows, and before Blaine could utter the order to dodge, Rapidash had taken it full-on to the face. The dark power that was unleashed hurled him backwards, and although he tried to get up on his spindly legs once or twice, they inevitably collapsed in on him and he lay there, breathing heavily and unwilling to fight back.

"Rapidash, return. Typhlosion weakened you too much, I can see that now. Gengar was too much of a trial after such a powerful opponent. Silver, you and your Pokemon are obviously very close to pull off some of the orders you gave. I stuck to more logical methods and probably lost as a result. Next time I shall try and be more creative. But, enough of this soul-searching. Here is your justly-won Volcanobadge," He pressed a fiery badge into Silver's hand, and Silver put it on his jacket along with the six other Kanto ones.

"Thank you, sir. You were a tough opponent, and I think that was one of my favourite battles to date,"

"I must agree with you. The last time I enjoyed a battle this much was about four years ago now, when my beloved Gym was still here... a boy just like you, he was, with a similar connection with his Pokemon. Well, if that will be all..."

"Yes, sir. Thank you again. Gengar, you came through again! Two badges in a row; I think you deserve a treat! Although not one that involves scaring people," Gengar's face fell as his ruse was exposed.

"You and your Pokemon did really well, Silver! Typhlosion vs. Magmar was absolutely gripping!" Scott said, shaking Silver's hand enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I would've released my Pokemon to watch, but you know how it is," Crystal said, hugging Silver in congratulations.

"What, you mean that Heracross would've gone crazy and Snorlax would've sunk this island?"

"Something like that. Shall we go?"

"Good idea. Oh no... we've got that boat ride to look forward to, haven't we?"

"Look forward to, dread... either one. Especially as we'll have to row now; I won't have you making Politoed pull us in his condition," Crystal warned. The three humans sighed in unison as they realised that they might not get back within two days to pay the owner of the boat after all.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 27**

After a gruelling few hours of rowing, in which more than one person got elbowed due to the cramped conditions, Silver, Crystal and Scott disembarked on the shores of Pallet Town. They took the time to stretch and breath freely again, and in Crystal's case splay upon the sand in tiredness. It was as if they were the lone survivors of a shipwreck who had floated into port on a piece of broken wood after days at sea.

"I love the ground, don't you?" Silver said, kicking up some sand as he felt the firmness beneath his feet.

"Good old terra firma. I think we should stick to luxury cruises in future," Scott said in response. "So, we're heading for Viridian City, right?"

"My last Gym battle with Blue. So, what do you know about him?"

"Nothing much. Just that he was born in Pallet Town and is a really hotshot Trainer. He's pretty mysterious overall," Scott replied, and Silver slapped his forehead.

"I could've worked that much out for myself. Are you going to travel with us? As it's not a very long way, it seems pretty pointless to split up," he said, and Scott smiled.

"That'd be great. Right, Hypno?" Hypno nodded once and gave Silver a thumbs-up just as Crystal and Tyrogue climbed back onto their feet.

"I couldn't help overhearing that for once you're coming along with us, Scott. The three of us, the three best friends in the world, travelling all together at last! All for one and one for all! Hoo-hah!" She and Tyrogue took up a karate position. "And Tyrogue," Crystal added as an afterthought, seeing the Fighting Pokemon beside her, and he punched the air happily.

"And Togetic," Silver said, indicating the squeaking creature on his shoulder.

"And Hypno," Scott pointed out.

"Ah, the heck with it. So we're the six musketeers. If we include absolutely everyone..." she counted in her head and her face screwed up with concentration as she mouthed the names of all the separate Pokemon. "We're the thirteen musketeers!" Silver slapped his head again.

"Great. That's a really good omen, that is, right before my Gym battle," The three of them, as well as their Pokemon of course, walked through the streets of Pallet Town slowly, regaining the use of their aching arms a little more with each step. For once, Crystal had no interest in visiting Professor Oak's lab, unable to bear any more disappointment. On Route 1, they stopped on a familiar hill; the very same hill on which they had had a picnic before, at the start of their Kanto adventure. Even that seemed like years ago now, and Silver reminisced fondly about the many battles he had had since then, and the seven badges he had won. He released his Pokemon, who had contributed more than him to his victories, and they stood on the hill together, looking across the Viridian City, which was in sight. "Look, guys! That's where our final Kanto battle is. Then we'll have a couple of weeks of training, and it'll be time for the Pokemon League again!" His Pokemon all cried out enthusiastically, and Silver felt a slight pang as he remembered that Umbreon was not there to share the moment with them. However, he had called up the Dark Pokemon every week, and confirmed that he and Espeon were doing well. Sabrina didn't appreciate the intrusion, but he didn't much care, as long as he knew that Umbreon was alright.

"Shall we have our dinner out here? It's getting quite late in the day, after all. Maybe you should wait until tomorrow to challenge the Gym, when you're all fully mentally alert and ready," Crystal suggested.

"I guess you're right. We can train tonight for the battle tomorrow," Silver said, slightly downhearted.

"I've got an idea," Scott said as they laid out their picnic. "There's a place called Trainer House in Viridian City. Maybe you can go there tonight for some training,"

"Hey, you're right! Good one, Scott!" Silver said enthusiastically, and ate with renewed vigour alongside his Pokemon.

"Come out, Heracross and Snorlax!" Crystal said, and with a flash of red light her two creatures appeared.

"No!" Scott cried.

"Are you crazy?" Silver yelled, but before they could explain, Snorlax pulled the blanket from under them and tipped all the food into his cavernous mouth, before slumping backwards and falling asleep. "We've run out of Snorlax food," Silver needlessly reminded her, rubbing his head and brushing grass of his clothes as he got to his feet. The nurse at Celadon City Pokemon Centre had prescribed them with special food for Snorlax, a few chunks of which would provide all the nutrients necessary as well as filling him up, protecting their other food.

"Oh no! Sorry... Snorlax, return. Heracross, come back here, Tyrogue doesn't want to fight!" In just a few seconds, both of Crystal's Pokemon had disrupted their peaceful picnic completely; Heracross had powered through the ranks of Pokemon to attack Tyrogue, whose back was unfortunately turned at the time. Luckily, before any harm could be done, Heracross was once again inside his Pokeball. "Trainer House, here we come!" Crystal said hopefully, but quailed under the combined glares of Scott and Silver and hung her head.

"Looks like we'll have to visit it early, seeing as _someone_ ate all of our food," Silver said as he packed up their stuff, and his Pokemon followed him down the hill, looking disgruntled at their interrupted meal. Scott and Hypno came after them, and Crystal and Tyrogue followed in their wake meekly. Viridian City hadn't changed much, and Silver was actually able to find his way to Trainer House without consulting either the Pokegear or Crystal. On the way they passed a familiar old man sipping a cup of coffee, who waved at them jovially as they walked by. Silver and Crystal shared a look, remembering how the man had acted before drinking his coffee the first time they visited the city, and suppressed grins.

"Actually, hadn't we better go to the Pokemon Centre first?" Scott suddenly said. "Politoed and Typhlosion got pretty beaten up in your battle with Blaine. I think they'll need a check-up at least," Silver slapped his forehead at his own stupidity.

"Of course! Good call, Scott. Sorry, you two, I was too focused on my battle," They made their way back to the Pokemon Centre and rested there for a while, booking in a couple of rooms; Scott was going to leave after Silver's battle to further his mysterious career. Crystal bought them all some new food to compensate for Snorlax ruining their picnic, and luckily the nurse at the Centre was able to give them more specially-prepared Snorlax food to safeguard their own supplies.

"Do you forgive me?" Crystal asked the two of them sheepishly, her and Tyrogue looking at the floor in embarrassment.

"Forgive you? Of course we forgive you! You didn't think we'd hold it against you, did you?" Silver said, hugging her to show that he was sincere.

"Yeah, it was that Snorlax's fault," Scott said, but as kindly as he could.

"Thanks, guys! Silver, I'm looking forward to your Trainer House battle and your Gym battle. In fact, maybe I could battle at Trainer House too!" she said enthusiastically.

"That would be great! We'll cheer you on just as you cheer us on," Silver replied. Fortunately, Silver's Pokemon were fed well at the Pokemon Centre, and Politoed and Typhlosion came back as good as new. "Thank you. You and your fellow nurses really do a great job every time," Silver said to the nurse as she brought back the Pokemon. She beamed happily.

"Well, I love my job! Especially when it involves such vibrant and happy Pokemon," she said, pointing at Tyrogue, who leapt up and punched the air happily.

"I think vibrant might be the wrong word," Crystal said as the nurse walked away and Tyrogue flew over their heads, catapulted by Heracross' horn. When everyone had been healed, fed and rested, Silver and the others made their way slowly to Trainer House, where they hoped a warm-up battle would await before it was time for sleep. Then tomorrow, Silver's battle with Blue was on the cards. On the way, Scott came up with a novel idea.

"Guys, how about, just for these matches, you swap Pokemon? As in, Silver uses Tyrogue, Heracross and Snorlax, and Crystal picks three of Silver's Pokemon? It's just a training technique I've seen on my travels, and it works really well. Apparently it makes a Trainer adapt to new situations quicker, and gives them a more well-rounded view of Pokemon as a whole. It's just a suggestion,"

"What d'you think? Would you trust me with Tyrogue and the others?" Silver turned to Crystal questioningly.

"You know I'd trust you with anything. But I don't know if I'm up to handling Typhlosion and the rest,"

"Of course you are! They're your friends as well as I am, and they trust you as a great Trainer. They'll do everything you say, you'll see. I'm the one who's got to be worried, with Heracross on my team,"

"I guess so. Here we are..." Trainer House looked almost like a school, but any thoughts of homework were banished when they entered and saw several Trainers lounging around, their weird and wonderful Pokemon sitting with them as they prepared for battle. There were Bug Catchers, Rockers, Hikers and many others, and Pokemon of almost every type represented there. For Silver, it felt like where he belonged. He walked over to the desk and asked,

"Hi, can we sign up for a battle? We're both Trainers. Here are my Kanto badges..." He puffed out his chest and the attendant looked at them beadily, then nodded.

"OK, what about her badges?"

"Er... she hasn't got any yet. But can't I vouch for her, as a Trainer myself?"

"Hmm. Well, seeing as we've got an odd number of Trainers with you included, she'd bump up the numbers nicely, so I guess she can participate. Names?"

"I'm Silver,"

"My name's Crystal,"

"OK, if you'll wait over there in the seating area, you'll be paired up with another Trainer. The date for your battle will also be provided and it shouldn't be longer than a couple of days away," The two of them, as well as Scott, walked over to a corner, looking at a TV screen in the wall that waited to pair people up.

"So who d'you want to borrow?" Silver asked, holding up his Pokeballs for Crystal to choose from.

"Oh, I really don't mind, I like them all... these three. Then it'll be a nice surprise for me and my opponent," Crystal picked three from the five, and Silver put the other two on his belt. Suddenly, the screen flashed, and the names tallied against each other, moving around too quickly to follow before stopping. Silver eagerly looked down the list, and his eyes widened as he saw who he was against. He watched Crystal follow the same path and her expression was exactly the same as his as they looked at each other. "We're against _each other_?" she said incredulously. Silver took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair.

"And look, it's two days from now. So I'll have time to slot in my Gym battle tomorrow. You... you'll be my last Kanto battle before the Elite Four," he said, hit with a strange desire to laugh.

"We should've expected this. Stuff like this always happens to us," Crystal said, her head in her hands.

"I know what you mean. Looks like we'll have to swap back our Pokemon. It doesn't make any sense for us to use each other's against ourselves," He accepted his own Pokeballs back and handed over Crystal's.

"Wow. Two important battles... in two days. This is going to be intense..." Scott said, wiping his brow, and the three of them slowly got up and left, unusually going their separate ways on the way back to the Pokemon Centre. Silver pondered his situation as he walked alone but for Togetic down the street, watching the sun slowly setting. First he would have to battle one of the finest Trainers in the land to claim his last Kanto badge and qualify again for the Pokemon League, and after that he would have to battle his best friend in the entire world. Even he and Chikorita back at home hadn't been as close and he and Crystal were. Then, some point in the future, he'd have to face off against the most powerful Trainers in both Kanto and Johto; the Elite Four. Then the official best; Red, the Pokemon Champion and a true Master. A tiring, stressful and difficult trek lay ahead, something which hammered into him only at this pivotal moment in time. The weight of his journey so far crashed into him as he remembered how far he had come, the friends he had made amongst the weird and wonderful creatures known as Pokemon, and those he had left behind. Togetic stroked his cheek comfortingly as he walked in no particular direction, forgetting about the Pokemon Centre in his almost dream-like state.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 28**

Silver didn't see either Scott or Crystal when he finally made it to the Pokemon Centre, and was secretly grateful; he didn't want to talk about what had just happened. He was prepared to bet that Crystal wasn't too keen on the idea of battling her best friend either. But they had signed up now, the computer had paired them, and a date for the battle had been set. However, Silver tried to put this to the back of his mind as he awoke the next morning, knowing that today was one of his most important Gym battles, with Blue, the Viridian City Gym Leader. He couldn't afford to lose his focus. To his relief, when he left his room, he found Crystal and Scott waiting outside. Crystal looked tired, as if she hadn't gotten much sleep, but she still smiled wanly as Silver made his appearance.

"How are you?" she asked. "Ready for your battle?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Oh, don't listen to me. I'm excited really, I'm just... preoccupied," Silver replied, and he didn't need to expand on his words for the other two to know what he was talking about.

"Silver, I've been thinking. I think you should just treat your battle with Crystal tomorrow as something fun, between friends, rather than being ultra-serious about it. I know that will be hard for both of you, but I don't want you to stop being friends when one of you wins and the other... doesn't," Scott said awkwardly. Silver smiled as best he could.

"Sounds like a plan. Anyway, let's get some breakfast; everyone's hungry!" he tapped his Pokeballs and led the way down to the food hall, where they breakfasted in near-silence. Despite what Scott had said, it lingered like a black cloud over them, and made Togetic droop with gloom as he sensed the mood. They walked to the Gym quickly, eager to be somewhere where they could be focused on something other than the future, living for the moment of battle. This time, the door was unlocked, and Silver walked in first, his friends following behind. Togetic was perched on Crystal's shoulder and squeaked his encouragement, along with a couple of lacklustre 'good luck's from the two humans as they took their position on the sidelines.

"Here's the Johto punk! I've been waiting here ages. Now maybe we can get this over and done with," Blue sneered, getting up off the bench he was sitting on and casting aside his newspaper and cup of coffee.

"I'm not a punk! I'm Silver from New Bark Town, and I've beaten all the Gym Leaders in Kanto _and_ Johto," Silver replied through gritted teeth, taking his place on the battle-field.

"Hmph! The Gyms in Johto must be pretty pathetic, then. I've beaten all the Gyms in Kanto as well, before I became a Leader myself, of course. I was even the Champion once; bet you didn't know that, did you?" Blue replied.

"You were the Champion? When?" Silver asked, astonished.

"'Bout four years ago now. I was beaten by my old rival, Red, after just a few hours of being the best... But we're friends now, he and I. Just like we used to be when we were young. What am I doing? This isn't an interview, this is a battle. Six Pokemon each; ready?"

"Six? I, uh, haven't got six with me..." Silver said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"This little session is a waste of time, then. Come back when you've got six. Until then, I'm going to finish my coffee," Blue walked back to his bench and sat down, relaxed, as he sipped his drink and ignored everyone else, perusing his newspaper.

"Silver, do you want Hypno back for this battle?" Scott asked.

"Or maybe you can borrow one of mine," Crystal suggested.

"Thanks, but no thanks. There's only one Pokemon who can fit the bill this time," Silver said with a small smile. Several minutes later, he and Blue had taken their places on the battle-field again, ready to fight for an Earthbadge. Silver had raced back to the Pokemon Centre and phoned up Sabrina in Saffron City straight away. The Psychic Pokemon Leader wasted no time in sending over Umbreon, who was ready and willing to battle with his master one last time. It only took seconds for the transfer to complete, with Umbreon's Pokeball materialising in the machine almost on the instant that it vanished from Sabrina's Gym. It felt just like old times as Silver focused only on the battle, blotting out everything else other than his foe and the six ready and waiting fighters at his command.

"I'll start things off, as the Gym Leader. Arcanine, I choose you!" Blue hurled a Pokeball into the arena and a large, tiger-like dog appeared. Silver could feel the intense heat emanating from its beautiful fur even from his removed position.

"Politoed, go!" Politoed landed in front of Silver and raised his clenched fist, ready to fight again after battling Blaine in Silver's last Gym battle.

"Arcanine, Swift!" Blue said quickly, and Arcanine's mouth opened to blast out a volley of shining stars that was impossible to dodge.

"Politoed, Body Slam!" Silver countered, and Politoed jumped up to slam into Arcanine and hopefully Paralyse him. Silver's plan banked on Politoed's resilience, but unfortunately he had underestimated Arcanine's power; the Swift took Politoed in the chest and blasted him away from the Fire Pokemon, stopping his attack and hurting him at the same time. "Sorry, Politoed. That won't happen again. Try a Waterfall this time," Politoed blasted himself up into the air and arced down towards his foe, encased in a rippling orb of water.

"Arcanine, use Extremespeed to dodge!" Arcanine was a blur as he effortlessly evaded Politoed's Waterfall, darting to the side then charging back in to inflict a high-speed tackle on his foe.

"Let's slow him up with a Hypnosis, Politoed. Then we can hit him hard with a Surf, right?" Politoed nodded in response and attacked Arcanine with a powerful rippling wave of mental energy that flowed from the swirl on his stomach.

"Arcanine, counter with a Flamethrower!" Arcanine exhaled a jet of fire that swept through the invisible Hypnosis waves with ease, and engulfed Politoed, shoving him backwards, although he managed to keep his footing nonetheless.

"Politoed, get out of there!" Silver cried, and Politoed bounded upwards, letting the flames pass beneath him as he pounded his enemy with such powerful waves of Hypnosis that the air shimmered with their passing.

"Arcanine, Extremespeed!" Blue ordered, and Arcanine stopped his Flamethrower and charged at Politoed as he landed, ramming him head-first and sending him flying backwards. However, Arcanine himself wasn't completely unharmed, as such close proximity to Politoed's Hypnosis was having its effect on him. He staggered around, trying to keep his eyes open, and Silver knew that his chance to fight back had finally arrived.

"Politoed, Surf! Give it all you've got!" he cried, and Politoed spewed out a wave of water as quickly as he could, fashioning it with speed and skill into a towering wave.

"Arcanine, look to your enemy! Danger approaches!" Blue ordered, and Arcanine managed to focus slightly, looking up at the wave that thundered towards him. "Use Roar, quickly!" Arcanine opened his mouth and emitted a loud howl, which at first seemingly had no effect; however, it somehow affected Silver's Pokeballs, as Politoed was withdrawn seconds before his attack was about to hit home and Gengar was released in his place.

"Huh? Gengar, what are you doing?" Silver asked, but Gengar looked just as surprised as he did. Arcanine's attack had not completely neutralised Politoed's Surf, though; the rest of the wave kept going and crashed into the Fire Pokemon, not as powerful as it would have been with Politoed controlling it, but nothing to ignore nonetheless. It did have the side-effect of waking him up again, however, so they were back to square one on that call.

"Arcanine, Flamethrower! None of your other attacks will work on Gengar, so hit him as hard as you can!"

"Gengar, dodge it! As long as you can stay out of Flamethrower's way, we can walk this battle!" Silver encouraged, and Gengar nodded, hopping aside from a blast of flame that missed him by inches. "Hit him with a Night Shade, as best you can," Gengar flipped away from several more Flamethrowers before standing his ground and meeting the fire head-on with his own barrage of black, crackling bolts from his eyes. The two Pokemon duelled, neither holding back as they stood stock-still, battling fiercely to claim victory. First Gengar's Night Shade seemed more powerful, then Arcanine's Flamethrower, as they went back and forth between the two.

"Arcanine, Extremespeed! Then Flamethrower again!" Blue suddenly said, and Arcanine dodged away from the Night Shade, reappearing behind Gengar and unleashing a pillar of fire from his mouth.

"Gengar, turn! Hold him off with Night Shade, but get ready for a Shadow Ball!" Silver parried, and Gengar pivoted just in time, fending off the flames with his Night Shade and at the same time slowly creating a ball of shadows between his palms.

"Arcanine, keep at your Flamethrower! You've got more endurance than Gengar!" Blue encouraged.

"Don't listen to him, Gengar! Just a little bit longer..." Eventually, the Shadow Ball was complete, and Gengar hurled it at Arcanine with all of his strength, still trying to keep the Flamethrower away. Arcanine yelped as the Shadow Ball impacted, exploding with a blast of dark energy and throwing him backwards, disoriented. "This is it! Use all the speed at your disposal, and hit him with Night Shade and Shadow Balls again!" Silver cried, and Gengar hammered Arcanine with more attacks, jumping and darting around with incredible agility, keeping Arcanine confused and unable to fight back with his stinging blows.

"Arcanine, quickly! Use Roar again! You were unlucky to release Gengar last time, but your next foe won't be immune to your blows," Blue said, seeing Arcanine gradually slip away, and the dog-like creature emitted a desperate howl as a Night Shade blasted him in the side. Gengar was sucked back into his Pokeball in frustration, and Silver ground his teeth angrily; victory had been in sight. But he laughed grimly as he saw who was released; a rested and ready Politoed.

"Unlucky again, Arcanine. And that was your last chance. Politoed, Surf!"

"Arcanine, Extremespeed!" Arcanine hazily darted forwards, but his angle was all wrong, and Politoed managed to twitch slightly and avoid the charge. Arcanine stumbled as he raced past Politoed, and turned to see the frog Pokemon standing triumphantly on the wave that hovered over him. Politoed took a second to savour the moment, then let the wave crash down onto the Fire Pokemon. "Arcanine, return. Both Gengar and Politoed have been weakened, but perhaps using Roar was a mistake. We'll see how Politoed copes with my next Pokemon, shall we? Gyarados, show him what a real Water Pokemon can do!" A huge, dragon-like creature loomed over the now-tiny Politoed, roaring loudly with anger.

"Don't be intimidated, Politoed! He isn't invincible, despite what he looks like," Silver encouraged, then waited for Gyarados' first move; this would make it easier to think up a counter-attack.

"Gyarados, use Twister!" Gyarados opened his huge mouth wide and disgorged a swirling tornado, which writhed before Politoed like a monstrous behemoth as it threatened to tear him up into the sky and batter him.

"Stay strong, Politoed! Gyarados is going to be a tough nut to crack, but if anyone can do it, it's you. Use Waterfall to boost yourself up to the Twister," Politoed smiled at this undoubtedly risky tactic, but he had always been a determined and brave battler, so he wasted no time in doing his best. Boosting himself up into the air with a jet of water, he sailed towards the Twister, and managed to get caught in one of the high-up draughts, which swirled him around in a circle and tried to drag him into the centre of the whirlwind. However, he used this momentum to speed up his own attack, quickly breaking free from the Twister's clutches and slamming down onto Gyarados when the beast and Blue least expected it. Luckily, the Twister petered out as Gyarados lost his bearings, and Politoed landed looking justly proud of himself. "Politoed, that was perfect! Great job!" Silver cried, and he heard Tyrogue punch the air from the sidelines.

"Using Twister to power up one of your own attacks? You like risky moves, make no mistake," Blue smiled, looking at Silver with the beginnings of respect for the first time.

"High risk, high return, that's what I say,"

"And yet, with a high risk, there's a high chance of it going wrong. We won't make the same mistake again, so be warned. Gyarados, Hydro Pump!" Gyarados unleashed a gigantic blast of raging water, which sped towards Politoed and threatened to do major damage despite being a same-type move.

"Politoed, Waterfall again! Then Hypnosis!" Politoed just launched himself out of the way in time, and the jet of frothing water surged beneath him as he hurtled towards Gyarados. Such a powerful Hydro Pump could have defeated Typhlosion in a single blow, but hopefully the Fire Pokemon wouldn't be called upon to battle the huge creature.

"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" Blue ordered, pointing victoriously at the Politoed that sped straight towards his Pokemon. Gyarados took a moment to summon the power, then unleashed a massively powerful blast of pure and utter power. Politoed's watery shield was almost no protection at all, and the Water Pokemon was hit full-on by the beam, which hurled him backwards helplessly. He landed with a thump on the floor, and for a moment Silver was about to recall him, but somehow he clung on using sheer guts and clambered slowly to his feet. Gyarados was still overcome by the power he channelled, momentarily helpless; it was an advantage Silver could not afford to ignore.

"Politoed, are you sure you're able to keep going?" Politoed nodded once and glared at the shaken Gyarados as if he wanted to Paralyse him with the intensity of his gaze. "Then we'll stick to the original plan and use a Hypnosis!" Swirling, invisible rays seeped from Politoed's stomach, wrapping themselves delicately around Gyarados' head and peacefully soothing him into slumber.

"Gyarados, snap out of it! Use Twister!" Blue cried, and Gyarados managed to release an albeit small tornado before collapsing forwards, his great head slamming against the ground as he gave in to sleep. However, the Twister kept going, swirling towards Politoed despite Gyarados' incapacity.

"I don't know how Gyarados is doing that, but I've prepared for a Twister anyway! Use Surf on it, and turn it into a whirlpool!" Blue actually laughed out loud at Silver's tactic. "What?" Silver asked him, slightly hurt that he was being mocked.

"I've never seen someone with such weird tactics up their sleeves. With Red, you could expect a straightforward, fair, but incredibly skilled Pokemon battle. With you, I don't know what to expect. But please, carry on," Blue replied, waving him onwards.

"Ignore him, Politoed. He's trying to distract us. Quickly, the Twister's waiting!" Silver encouraged, and Politoed raised up another wave, keeping slightly further back this time to protect him from the worst of the Twister; until it was under his control, that is. The wave collided with the rushing wind, and was sucked up and around until there was a twister of water frothing and splashing on the battle-field. At the top, the commander of this incredible attack, was Politoed himself, deftly keeping the whirlpool under his control and manoeuvring it towards Gyarados. However, Gyarados had awoken from his sleep, and was rearing back up with a huge yawn.

"Good! Gyarados, hit Politoed's whirlpool with a Hydro Pump, to really confuse things for him!" Blue said, which was the opposite of what Silver had expected. He thought Blue would blast Politoed off his perch with another Hyper Beam, or counter his whirlpool with a Twister, not power it up with more gushing water! The jet of foaming water blasted from Gyarados' wide jaws, smashing into the whirlpool and making it bigger and wilder with each passing second. Silver could see Blue's well-played tactic clearly now; he was trying to make Politoed lose control of the whirlpool and get sucked up in it himself.

"Politoed, keep it going! He's just adding fuel to your attack! Hit him now, and he'll be sorry he ever used a Hydro Pump!"

"Gyarados, he'll be the one who's sorry when he loses control of his little whirlpool. Show him what happens to people who try to be too clever with their attacks," Politoed struggled onwards, going slower with every metre as Gyarados added more and more water, until the whirlpool was almost the width of the battle-field and almost up to the ceiling.

"Hit him now, Politoed!"

"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" The two Trainers cried out their orders almost simultaneously. The whirlpool, with one last surge of effort, slammed down onto Gyarados in full force, whilst at the same time a Hyper Beam cut right through it and hammered Politoed with frightening power, hurling him all the way back across the field to land at Silver's feet. Gyarados was injured, and badly disoriented, but only Politoed had been pushed beyond the brink and fainted.

"Well done, Politoed. You beat Arcanine and nearly beat Gyarados too! That was really good. The whirlpool was probably one of the best attacks I've ever seen from you. To finish off Gyarados, I think I'll choose you, Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet stood still and silently, looking more outmatched than ever as he faced up to the enormous Gyarados, who was still struggling to recover his bearings.

"Wobbuffet, huh? An odd choice. But maybe he's more powerful than he looks; I don't know much about them, beyond the name. Gyarados, be prepared for a Rain Dance, then a full-power Hydro Pump to really get things going," Silver cursed silently, unable to do anything to stop Gyarados powering up his attack with a weird, twisting dance that caused clouds to form over the Gym, dousing it with rain; the power of which Gyarados could draw upon and add to his own formidable reserves. "Gyarados, use Hydro Pump quickly! We've got them outfoxed this time!" Blue said triumphantly, and Silver smiled. So Blue thought that his silence was due to being unable to think of a tactic. Well, he'd soon prove that wrong.

"Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat!" he shouted, just as the huge Hydro Pump slammed into the Psychic Pokemon. Wobbuffet glowed many different colours from within the swirling water, and suddenly the jet reversed itself, bouncing off Wobbuffet and hurtling back towards the unsuspecting Gyarados. Such a powerful attack, boosted by Rain Dance, then doubled by Mirror Coat, was something probably no Pokemon in the world could have survived, and Gyarados was no exception as he was mercilessly battered and irrevocably knocked out by the returned Hydro Pump.

"What the...?" Blue cried as he watched Gyarados' eyes roll in defeat. "So, you used my own ignorance against me. Wobbuffet's one of the few Pokemon who can actually learn Mirror Coat, a fact which I fatally forgot. But don't think you've seen the best of me yet; Pidgeot, you're up!" A huge Flying Pokemon emerged, flapping over the battle-field and screeching as it gazed down at Wobbuffet.

"Wobbuffet, that was good, but be careful here. Pidgeot must have something up his sleeve, or else Blue wouldn't have released him," Silver warned, and was given a low groan in response.

"Wait for it, Pidgeot. Trust me, I have a plan," Blue said, and Pidgeot hovered where he was, awaiting an attack.

"You know as well as I do that Wobbuffet can't attack first, so we'll be here all day unless you fight," Silver said impatiently.

"Whatever. I've got time," Blue said flippantly. The two stood in silence for several minutes, in which neither of their Pokemon moved a muscle, staring across the battle-field at each other. Eventually, Silver could stand it no longer, and took a chance; as he wracked his brains trying to think up Blue's tactic and come up with a way to beat Pidgeot, he remembered that Wobbuffet could sometimes, when not attacked, use Mirror Coat again and hit their opponent with the same amount of damage as they dealt from their last Mirror Coat. In this case, the super-double Hydro Pump, which Pidgeot would have no chance of living through. But would it apply now? There was only one way to find out, and he knew that if it worked he would have caught Blue unawares.

"Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat!" Silver cried, and something incredibly strange happened. Wobbuffet glowed with his shiny coating, and his mouth opened to blast out the incredibly-powered Hydro Pump that had beaten Gyarados just minutes ago. Silver punched the air, but was stopped from crying out at the look on Blue's face.

"Thank you, Wobbuffet. I knew my patience would pay off. Pidgeot, Mirror Move!" Pidgeot's wings shone like mirrors, and as the Hydro Pump slammed against them, it again reversed its path and hammered a now-normal and defenceless Wobbuffet.

"Wobbuffet, no! What happened? Return, you beat Gyarados at least and again showed me that looks aren't everything. That Hydro Pump reversal was incredible. But this time I'll fight fire with fire... or flyer with flyer, in fact. Noctowl, I choose you!" Silver's own resident Flying Pokemon took the field opposite a wounded but more than ready Pidgeot.

"A battle of the birds. Pidgeot, Quick Attack!" Pidgeot darted down and slammed into the smaller Noctowl, winding him slightly before retreating. There was no doubt as to who was the faster flier, but skill would be a huge factor too, and Noctowl possessed a lot of it.

"Noctowl, Fly! Show him who's the boss of the air," Silver said, and luckily Blue seemed to be drawn into his kind of fight;

"Pidgeot, we'll show him who's boss alright! Wing Attack, let's go!" The two Flying Pokemon circled each other in the air, dodging, pecking and battering each other with wings whenever they could find an opening. Pidgeot was larger and faster, but Noctowl was cleverer and more agile, outwitting his opponent several times and managing to get in some critical Pecks. On the other hand, he also suffered his fair share of damage from Pidgeot's glowing wings, which were quick and unforgiving in their attentions.

"Noctowl, dive!" Silver suddenly cried, seeing a chance, and Noctowl immediately plummeted away from Pidgeot, who flapped in pursuit. "Hypnosis! Use that cool neck of yours!" Noctowl's head turned a hundred and eighty degrees so he was looking behind... straight into the following Pidgeot's eyes. "Now, Fly!" As Pidgeot's flight stuttered slightly, the Flying Pokemon losing his bearings as he tried to stay awake, Noctowl looped the loop and slammed into him from the side, knocking him to the floor in a heap. "Yeah! That's great!" Noctowl hooted in celebration.

"Pidgeot, are you OK?" Pidgeot had been awakened by his impromptu collision and flew back into the air vengefully in reply. "Hit him with a Quick Attack, then!" Noctowl was taken in the chest by the speeding Pidgeot, who wasted no time in attacking with talons and beak as the situation presented itself.

"Noctowl, strike back with an unexpected Confusion!" Noctowl drew back from his attacker, and his eyes and crest glowed blue as he gripped Pidgeot in Psychic power, assailing him with rippling pulses and hurling him away disdainfully. However, Pidgeot managed to flap his wings skilfully enough to stop himself hitting the floor, although when he righted himself he did look slightly puzzled, as if he couldn't remember where he was. "Nice work! He's good and Confused now! Use Fly again, and try to knock him to the floor!" Noctowl rose and fell like a comet, beating Pidgeot from above and forcing him towards the floor, where his speed would be negated completely.

"Pidgeot, Whirlwind!" Blue said quickly, and Pidgeot's wings flapped quickly, creating a swirling tornado that swept the two Pokemon apart, buying him time. "Now, Quick Attack!" Pidgeot rose up as the Whirlwind dissipated, and lanced into an airborne tackle, slamming into Noctowl again and catching him off-guard.

"Noctowl, Peck!" Silver retaliated, and Noctowl swooped in, tapping Pidgeot hard on the head with his dagger-like beak relentlessly. Pidgeot screeched with pain as he flapped backwards, away from the barrage.

" He's close enough for a Wing Attack!" Blue ordered, and Pidgeot's wings glowed as he swept them in to batter away his foe. However, his confusion finally unseated him, and he ended up hitting himself instead as Noctowl dodged away.

"Fly attack!"

"Quick Attack!" Once again both Trainers cried out their commands at the same time, and both Pokemon responded just as quickly. Noctowl flew upwards, narrowly dodging a Quick Attack, but Pidgeot kept it up and the two once again ended up grappling in a mid-air wrestling match, striking and fleeing, using hit and run to wear down and confuse their foe. As they duelled more and more viciously, a draw seemed in sight; unless Silver had anything to say about it.

"Peck! Drag him down to earth!" Noctowl altered his wings and dived down, grabbing Pidgeot's wing in his beak and pulling him down too until they both collided with the floor. Noctowl managed to pull out of his dive reasonably well and only scraped the floor with his belly, but Pidgeot was at completely the wrong angle and hit it back-first, rolling in the dust in pain and surprise. "Confusion! Keep him in place!" Silver said, and Noctowl turned in the air, blasting the grounded Pidgeot with Psychic energy as he simultaneously immobilised and pounded the creature with mental energy.

"Pidgeot, no!" Blue cried, but he was too late; Noctowl had finished the Flying Pokemon off, thanks to Silver's 'grounding' tactic. "Return. Negating Pidgeot's flight was a good idea, especially when your Pokemon can fly too. But Noctowl won't have the power necessary to defeat my next Pokemon. Rhydon, I choose you!" A large dinosaur-like beast appeared, stamping the ground and bellowing as it prepared for battle.

"Another powerhouse, eh, Noctowl? Well, I think that skill is a good replacement for brute strength any day of the week. Ready?" Noctowl hooted once and gazed knowingly at Rhydon, waiting for an attack.

"Rhydon's got the clear-cut advantage here, being a Rock type! First of all, I think we'll make things a little difficult for our flying friend here. Rhydon, Sandstorm!" Rhydon span in a circle, faster and faster, kicking up dust and sand so that it created a thick, swirling blizzard of debris, within which Noctowl struggled to stay aloft.

"Noctowl, don't worry! You can do it!" Silver cried, watching Noctowl duck a particularly large clod of earth. "We'd better get things going with a Hypnosis!" Noctowl's eyes glowed through the Sandstorm, seeking to put his huge foe to sleep.

"Ignore it, Rhydon! He can't see you properly through that Sandstorm! In the mean time, show him a Fury Attack to remember!" Rhydon crouched down, then leapt up towards Noctowl through the Sandstorm as if it wasn't there. He then proceeded to batter Noctowl mercilessly with his horn, fists and tail, a flurry of blows that left Noctowl reeling and forced him to get pounded even more harshly by the Sandstorm. Rhydon landed in the midst of the storm with a thump, looking beadily up at his struggling opponent as his tail whipped from side to side.

"What we really need now is Politoed... ah well. I still have three left after Noctowl, so we're still very much in the game! Noctowl, use Confusion to turn his Sandstorm against him!" Noctowl gave up on the Hypnosis and focused his Psychic power on the storm itself, melding it and manipulating it so the larger chunks, powered by his own mental energy, hammered down and smashed into Rhydon all at once, creating a pile of rubble where the creature once stood.

"Rhydon, you're not going to let a wimpy move like that put you off, are you?" Blue asked, and Rhydon burst out of the pile of rubble, roaring as he seized back control of his Sandstorm. "Good! I didn't think so. It's time to put Noctowl to bed once and for all. Rock Slide!" Rhydon lifted his tail as high as he could, then hammered it down incredibly hard on the battle-field, creating a wave of rubble. It was Blue's turn to inventively use a combination; Rhydon used the Sandstorm to lift up the wave of rocks, making them slam one after the other into an unprepared Noctowl.

"Noctowl, come back. You were magnificent against Pidgeot. Let's see... three left. Gengar, it's your turn again!" Gengar took the field for the second time, taking up a fighting stance as the sandstorm died down, leaving the stadium littered with rubble.

"A half-Poison type, up against a dual Rock and Ground type? This should be easier than I expected, Rhydon! Hit him hard with an Earthquake!" Silver had feared this deadly Ground attack, but he didn't know whether Umbreon had the power or Typhlosion had the right attacks to really hurt Rhydon, so it was up to the Ghost.

"Gengar, leap upwards!" he cried; an obvious tactic, but necessary.

"I expected you to do that! Rhydon, let's see if he can dodge a Rock Slide so easily!" With one mighty blow from his tail, another wave of rock hurtled towards Gengar, who had only just landed after escaping the shockwaves of Earthquake.

"Gengar, try and use your speed again to get up on top of the Rock Slide! When you reach the top, hit him with a deadly Hypnosis!" Silver knew that if there was ever a time for risky tactics, it was now. Gengar charged forwards to meet the rocky wave, and leapt at just the right time; he managed to hop from one rock to another, climbing the Rock Slide and resting on the very peak of it, like Politoed balancing on the top of his Surf. Wasting no time, Gengar flipped forwards so the Rock Slide continued behind him, and blasted Rhydon with the full power of his sleep-inducing abilities. The huge creature may have been very thick-skinned and physically strong, but he was completely unprepared for a Psychic assault of this magnitude, and fell backwards with a loud rumbling snore. "Yes! Gengar, that was great! You know what comes next; Dream Eater!" The Ghost had been hurt by some of the rocks that he had leapt up whilst pulling off his fantastic counter-attack, so Silver knew that now was a good time to have him replenish some of his health.

"That really was impressive, Silver. But fancy moves like that can sometimes be their own undoing," Blue said pensively, standing back and watching as Gengar sapped his Pokemon's vitality. Eventually, Rhydon's eyes snapped open, and he jumped to his feet and batted Gengar away with his tail as he regained his bearings. Gengar got to his feet, all the better after his 'meal', and he seemed more ready than ever to strike back.

"Let's go with a Shadow Ball, then! A close combat one, if you don't mind," he added, and Gengar grinned maliciously, creating his orb of darkness then leaping in to slam it directly into Rhydon's face, sending him stumbling backwards.

"Rhydon, you're still more than strong enough to beat Gengar! All we have to do is pin him down! Another Earthquake, then Sandstorm!" Silver could see what Blue was doing; if Gengar leapt over Earthquake, he'd be taken in by the Sandstorm. Staying put would result in a super-effective attack hitting dead-on. However, he had limited time to think as Rhydon leapt up, then landed with a crash, sending out shockwaves from the point of impact.

"Gengar, I'm sorry, but it's time for another crazy tactic!" Gengar grinned like it was no big deal. "Jump upwards to avoid Earthquake, then use Night Shade on the ceiling to blast yourself back down quickly, before the Sandstorm can brew up!" Crystal's gasp from the sidelines didn't help his concentration, but he wiped his brow as once again Gengar went above and beyond the call of duty and pulled off a spectacular dodge. He jumped as high as he could to evade the shockwaves, which passed underneath, then twisted in mid-air and propelled himself back to earth just as the sandstorm flared into life.

"OK, now it's just getting annoying. Rhydon, finish him off with a Rock Slide!"

"We'll see who's finishing who off! Gengar, Night Shade as best you can!" Silver said, hoping that Gengar was ready to pull off another risky move. It transpired that he was, luckily for Silver's nerves; as Rhydon gouged several rocks out of the stadium floor, Gengar blasted the biggest of them straight backwards with a precision Night Shade, knocking Rhydon full-on and not only smashing him off his feet but trapping him beneath the boulder too. The rest of the Rock Slide disintegrated as Rhydon lost control, leaving Gengar unharmed and grinning maliciously. Rhydon batted his prison aside with ease, getting to his feet and breathing heavily as he glared at his small but feisty foe.

"Fury Attack won't work, so I guess it's time for another Earthquake! He can't avoid the Sandstorm this time, at least," Blue said, sounding irritated at Gengar's continuous ingenuity. Rhydon crouched down to leap up again, but Silver was pumped full of adrenaline, and was on ultra-quick reactions mode.

"Gengar, Shadow Ball, before he hits the ground!" Gengar hurled another crackling Shadow Ball at Rhydon, interrupting his fall and sending him flying backwards, where he sprawled in defeat. "Ha! David and Goliath, step aside!" Silver cried, punching the air happily as Gengar cackled his amusement.

"Gengar may be quick as well as pretty strong, but now you've made me mad. Alakazam, destroy him with a Psychic!" Blue shouted, releasing the all-too-familiar Psychic Pokemon. Before Silver could react, Alakazam moved amazingly quickly, bathing Gengar in an amazingly powerful yet expertly precise wave of rippling colours that assailed Gengar on an incredible amount of levels. The Ghost Pokemon crashed backwards like a fallen tree, the grin still on his face as it ended horribly quickly.

"I should've seen this coming. Gengar, you were fantastic against Rhydon. As for Alakazam, here's my old friend Umbreon!" The feline Dark Pokemon landed with poise and grace, standing in front of his master for what would be the last time before they went their separate ways, possibly for good. The creature smiled in anticipation of the battle, enjoying fighting alongside Silver as much as Silver enjoyed fighting with him. "So, what will this be, Umbreon? The fourth Alakazam you've beaten? Gold's, Red's, Sabrina's... yep. You've got a nice little collection going on," Silver said, and Umbreon replied happily with a cry.

"Alakazam, don't despair! You can still weaken Umbreon for my secret weapon," Blue encouraged, and Alakazam crossed his spoons in readiness. "That's the way! Use Reflect, to keep Umbreon at bay until I can think of something," A shimmering panel appeared in front of Alakazam, looking like a pane of glass, but Silver knew that it was much stronger than any man-made material.

"This is almost too easy. Umbreon, you know what to do," Silver said carelessly, and Umbreon nodded, vanishing from view then reappearing behind his foe, slamming him up against his own Reflect. "Umbreon's patented anti-Alakazam technique!" Silver said proudly, and Blue glared at him.

"Pride comes just before a fall, you know. Alakazam, Disable!" Alakazam's eyes glowed blue for a second, but Umbreon wasn't frozen in place or anything.

"Psychic attacks don't work! Umbreon, Bite!" Umbreon started nipping Alakazam's hands, trying to get his spoons away from him.

"Disable doesn't stop them moving, Johto punk! It stops you using Faint Attack again! Boy, how you beat Kanto's Gyms I'll never know," Blue sneered, and Silver flushed. OK, perhaps his foe was right. He needed to focus. Alakazam could still be a dangerous opponent.

"Keep going with that Bite, Umbreon! Alakazam is a threat as long as he's conscious!"

"That's more like it. Alakazam, Psychic! But not on Umbreon," Blue said mysteriously. Alakazam nodded, and closed his eyes as he tried to focus beyond the pain of the Bites. Suddenly, a rock sailed towards Umbreon, one which he only just managed to dodge in time. As he freed Alakazam, the Psychic Pokemon really managed to get to grips with his power, and soon the many chunks of debris from Rhydon's machinations were hurtling through the air to attack Umbreon, a relentless barrage of rock and stone. What was more, Umbreon no longer had Faint Attack to dodge with. It seemed that with a good Trainer behind them, and the right battle-field, Psychic Pokemon could still be a threat to Dark Pokemon.

"Umbreon, you'd better use Quick Attack to dodge! You're still easily a match for Alakazam," Silver supported him, and Umbreon started to dart around, slipping away from Alakazam's clumsy boulders with inches to spare as they swung all over the place, doing their best to batter the Dark Pokemon into submission. However, it soon became clear that although Alakazam had used his Psychic well, he wasn't getting the results he had hoped for. Umbreon was just too quick and agile to pin down, leaping and dashing in different directions, not producing a pattern that Alakazam's brilliant brain could deduce, and thus all of the rocks fell short of their mark.

"Alakazam, throw all the rocks in different directions at once!" Blue ordered, seeing Umbreon make a particularly impressive evasion, and suddenly the rocks were sailing through the air together like shrapnel from a grenade, emanating out from their master and seeking to cover the whole battle-field, cutting off all escape routes.

"Umbreon, he's spread it too wide! Jump on the nearest boulder and charge into a Take Down!" Silver commanded, and Umbreon suddenly stopped, picked his spot, and leapt onto the boulder flying towards his position. Before Alakazam could make the rock perform any manoeuvres to dislodge its unwanted passenger, Umbreon bounded off it and hurtled into a full-on tackle that caught the Psychic Pokemon unawares. The arena shook as all of the boulders crashed to the floor, Alakazam's link with them severed as Umbreon stood on top of him. In a few seconds of struggling, Umbreon had torn away his spoons, and Blue recalled him to prevent any further damage.

"Alakazam, well done. You certainly gave them a shock, but I had to forfeit you; the battle was lost. But here and now is my greatest friend, my earliest companion... Venusaur, go!" The huge, saurian Grass Pokemon stamped his stubby feet and bellowed his challenge as he replaced Alakazam.

"One more foe left, Umbreon. Just do your best; Typhlosion can take Venusaur on if you don't manage to," Silver said with relief; having the type advantage on the final battle was a great help, and especially as it was Typhlosion who would be battling.

"Venusaur, Growth!" Blue ordered, and Venusaur closed his eyes, drawing on some hidden power that would increase his Grass type attacks.

"Umbreon, hit him with Quick Attack, whilst he's just standing there!" Umbreon charged into a Quick Attack, barrelling directly into Venusaur's huge face and drawing out a pained roar as the creature stumbled backwards.

"That should be enough for now, Venusaur. Enough to deal with Umbreon, anyway. Use Mega Drain to replenish the damage that Quick Attack just did!" Venusaur rumbled forwards into a run, making the ground quake as he stampeded towards the stationary Umbreon, his back-flower crackling with green, life-sapping energy.

"Umbreon, this time use Quick Attack to dodge! Then Bite his flower petals!" Silver hoped to capitalise as much as he could on the completely opposite attack styles of the two Pokemon, utilising quick hit and run attacks to wear the creature down and keep Umbreon from getting hurt. Umbreon moved like greased lightning, masterfully dodging away from Venusaur's charge at the last moment, then attacking from behind. He actually leapt up onto Venusaur's broad back and began savaging the flower petals with his sharp little teeth. It looked pretty comical from Silver's position, almost like a kitten trying to bring down a Great Dane, but he knew better than to underestimate Umbreon.

"Venusaur, Razor Leaf straight up!" Blue commanded, and a hail of sharp-edged leaves blasted upwards, dislodging Umbreon with a squeak. "Now, turn, quickly! Mega Drain!" Venusaur rotated on the spot, looming above the stunned Umbreon and blasting him with the draining bolts of energy. Umbreon struggled as his own health was being siphoned into Venusaur, and Silver cried,

"Umbreon, return. You can be the cavalry when all else fails. Typhlosion, I think this is a job more suited to you, my friend," He withdrew the suffering Umbreon before too much of his energy could be sapped away and replaced him with Typhlosion, who reared up and roared in a mighty challenge, his neck-flames alight. The two massive behemoths stared directly into each other's eyes, preparing themselves for the clash of the titans.

"OK, Venusaur, we can do this. We've come out of worse before, right?" Venusaur roared his assent at his Trainer's encouraging words.

"You too, Typhlosion. Remember Red's Venusaur? You beat him, and he was one of the most powerful Pokemon in the world. Get ready to give it all you've got; I'm depending on you!" Typhlosion bellowed his own incomprehensible oath as his neck-ruff burned brighter. There was silence for a moment as both Trainers looked at each other. Suddenly, Blue cried,

"Venusaur, Razor Leaf!" Another volley of leaves hissed towards the Fire Pokemon viciously.

"Typhlosion, burn them up with Flamethrower! Then hit the man himself with Flame Wheel," Silver parried. Typhlosion turned the swarm of leaves into crumbled ash with a searing Flamethrower, which was followed by a wide, swirling Catherine Wheel of flame that threatened to engulf Venusaur within, to deadly effect.

"Venusaur, dodge to the left! Charge in for a Mega Drain!" Blue ordered, and Venusaur staggered to the side, only getting clipped by the fiery explosion of the Flame Wheel before charging towards Typhlosion, his flower crackling again.

"Typhlosion, use Quick Attack! Then Strength to flip him over!" Silver commanded, and Typhlosion went down onto all fours, meeting Venusaur's mad rush with his own and smashing the Grass Pokemon aside; although Venusaur's Mega Drain took its toll as he passed. When he was behind the stunned Grass Pokemon, he reared back up again, then levered his paws under Venusaur's body and used all of his strength to throw him up into the air, turning him over so his back was to the floor. Venusaur bellowed in pain, his four legs waving wildly like a beetle's as the creature was trapped. His limbs were too short to right himself again, so Silver and Typhlosion had pinpointed his most obvious weakness with skill and precision honed over many battles together. "Excellent work, Typhlosion! Right, stand back and get ready for your best Flamethrower! We want to end this quickly, after all, because he's not out of the fight yet,"

"Venusaur, it's time for drastic measures! Use Solarbeam to right yourself again!" Blue commanded, and Typhlosion was stunned into silence by his words, fatally allowing Venusaur to gather the necessary power. With a small explosion and a burst of bright light, Venusaur propelled himself up into the air, twisting into a perfect if painful landing on all four feet. The Solarbeam from his flower had exploded on contact with the ground, hurting him, but it had been necessary to escape his position. "Looks like you can't cope with risky moves yourself. You wasted your best chance there," Blue mocked the two of them, and Typhlosion snarled, not willing to let it happen again. "Venusaur, Mega Drain again!" Venusaur lumbered towards Typhlosion eagerly, hoping to cleanse the pain from his aching body by leeching Typhlosion's life.

"He's charging straight at you, Typhlosion! Now's the time for that Flamethrower!" Typhlosion wasted no time in unleashing the fiery barrage, and the turning point of the battle had arrived. Should Blue order Venusaur to dodge, and end his attack? Or should he make Venusaur power through the flames in the hope of catching Typhlosion fatally unawares?

"Venusaur, keep going! Make it through and you can sap all of Typhlosion's health away with your Mega Drain!" Blue said, unwilling to be indecisive for better or worse. Venusaur continued pressing against the flames that washed over him at his master's instruction, closing his eyes against the pain and the glare, forcing one leg in front of the other over and over again... Sooner than Silver had expected, Venusaur burst free, and rammed Typhlosion off his feet with a desperately strong tackle. The Grass Pokemon was definitely badly weakened, but looked set to right this wrong as the Mega Drain tendrils eagerly lashed Typhlosion, ripping away his energy.

"Typhlosion, Strength!" Silver said quickly, and luckily Typhlosion heard, and managed to deal a crushing punch to Venusaur's jaw that sent him reeling backwards. However, as they squared up again, both Pokemon seemed at an equal level of vitality. One strong move one way or the other would decide the battle.

"Venusaur, it's all or nothing! Solarbeam!" Blue commanded.

"Typhlosion, you need to get close and finish him off with Strength!" Silver ordered, deciding to go for the unexpected as he usually tried to at these pivotal moments. Typhlosion lumbered forwards on his back legs, ready to grab Venusaur and batter the fight out of him before dealing one last blazing finisher. Unfortunately, Silver had underestimated the power of Blue's Venusaur. It summoned the necessary sunlight to power its attack quicker than expected, and the deadly Solarbeam slammed directly into Typhlosion's chest as he drew closer. The stadium was bathed in white light as Typhlosion stood his ground and Venusaur kept channelling power, the Fire Pokemon roaring with rage and pain and the Grass Pokemon gritting its sharp teeth with exertion. Eventually, Typhlosion defied all expectations and raised a foot, moving it painstakingly forward before placing it down on the ground again. Little by little, he actually drew closer to Venusaur, pitting all of his internal and external reserves against the Solarbeam which threatened to burn him to a crisp with its sheer power. Typhlosion's roars echoed around the Gym as the Fire Pokemon pushed further and further, not taking his eyes of Venusaur's eyes, dangerously close to blacking out but unwilling to go down without taking Venusaur with him. Silver could almost hear what was going on in Typhlosion's thoughts as he pushed closer and closer; "This is my master's most important battle! I will not fall! I will not faint! You can blast me with all the Solarbeams and Razor Leaves and Mega Drains you want, but they'll do nothing! Now that I'm in range, nothing's going to save you now!" With one ear-splitting roar, he grabbed Venusaur and flung him bodily away, cutting off his attack before unleashing a deadly wave of fire from his mouth. Everyone covered their eyes from the brightness and the heat as the Fire Pokemon went all-out to destroy the creature in front of him. Flames swirled around the entire field as Typhlosion let loose the entirety of his strength and power, making a massive, swirling, exploding typhoon of unstoppable fire that was dangerously close to being out of control.

"Venusaur, come back!" Blue cried, and fortunately the beam of his Pokeball penetrated the fire, drawing the beaten Grass Pokemon back inside to safety.

"Typhlosion, stop! It's over! You won!" Silver yelled madly, envisioning the entire Gym exploding with fire if his Pokemon wasn't stopped soon. Typhlosion turned slowly to look at his master and friend, and blinked as if being awoken from a dream. Seconds later, the fire-storm had disappeared, and Typhlosion and Silver were hugging in the middle of the battle-field. "Typhlosion... you're a great friend. One of the finest Pokemon in the world. We'll always be good pals, right? Always," Typhlosion roared happily in affirmation, blazing his neck-ruff into life.

"I hate to interrupt this stirring moment, but I have something for you," Blue was back to his sneering, arrogant self upon losing, and slapped a plain badge into Silver's outstretched hand. When no further communication seemed forthcoming, they turned to leave, Silver muttering his thanks, but as they reached the door, Blue cried, "Just... you'd better not lose to anyone else, OK? Until I beat you," Silver smiled.

"Trust me, I'll do my very best," he said, but his grin dimmed as he remembered what was to happen tomorrow. Would he be able to battle Crystal, or would he fall apart? Fighting a Gym Leader for the right to earn a coveted badge was one thing, but clashing with someone as close as his best friend was quite another. Only tomorrow, on the battle-field, would he truly realise whether or not he had it in him.


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (unfortunately).

**Silver: The Kanto Adventure**

**Chapter 29**

Silver wiped his forehead nervously as he waited for his opponent to release their first Pokemon. The trouble was, his opponent was Crystal, his best friend. He was standing opposite her within Trainer House, with Scott, Hypno and Togetic on the sidelines, watching first one Trainer then the other with trepidation. His battle with Blue yesterday had been larger than life and emotional, but he had a feeling that today's battle was going to be worse. After winning his final Kanto badge, the three of them had gone their separate ways after congratulations were given, to think about the next day and prepare themselves. Umbreon had been reluctantly returned to Sabrina after he and Silver had talked about recent developments like old friends, and he had been enthusiastic about his relationship with Espeon, so all seemed to be going well on that score. Many times Silver had wanted to just call it quits and abandon the battle, but he knew Crystal had wanted to have the experience of battling at Trainer House, so he didn't bring it up. They had breakfasted together as usual that day, but were more edgy around each other, and quickly parted company without much conversation. And now the dreaded moment had arrived. They had wished each other luck and hugged each other, then took their positions, ready to fight. Crystal licked her lips nervously, then saw that Silver wasn't going to release a Pokemon first, so she cried,

"Heracross, I choose you!" The Bug Pokemon emerged and hissed in eagerness; no matter who he was against, he loved to battle, to prove himself. They had agreed beforehand that there would be three one-on-one match-ups, and whoever won two would be the winner. They tried to take Scott's advice and not take it too seriously, but both were dedicated Trainers who hated to lose and always pushed themselves far for the win. They hated to admit it, but today would be no different for either of them.

"Heracross, eh? Noctowl, I choose you, for a double type advantage!" Noctowl fluttered down onto the battle-field and looked completely undisturbed by the developments.

"Heracross, let's strike first! Use Megahorn!" Heracross' horn lit up and he buzzed towards Noctowl as he prepared for his most powerful attack.

"Noctowl, Fly!" Noctowl took to the air, likewise using his greatest weapon for an early finish, but Heracross merely fluttered his transparent wings and charged after him, battering him across the face with a powerful blow from his horn. Noctowl span to the ground, momentarily stunned, and Heracross barrelled after him. It was what Silver had hoped for; he had already come out of Crystal's control. "Noctowl, quickly! Use Confusion!" Noctowl looked up and his eyes and crest glowed blue as he halted Heracross' charge. Completely calm, he hopped to his feet and straightened his feathers before continuing to pound his foe with Psychic impulses, throwing him across the battle-field contemptuously when he had finished with him.

"Heracross, you need to stay calm!" Crystal warned, but Heracross was already angrily charging at his foe. He was at his weakest and most dangerous simultaneously; he got into a berserker rage that made him super-powerful and hard to knock out, but without Crystal's guiding light all logic was lost. This was something Silver hoped to exploit as much as he could.

"Noctowl, Fly! Get ready to dodge, too!" he ordered, and Noctowl took to the sky again, Heracross unfurling his wings and thundering after him. The Bug Pokemon and his Flying counterpart danced around above their Trainers, Heracross unleashing incredible blows that never seemed to hit, and Noctowl pulling off necessarily incredible dodges to avoid being splattered.

"Heracross, Fury Attack!" Crystal ordered, but Heracross predictably didn't listen, and Crystal sighed and put her head in her hands. Silver felt the urge to go and comfort her but knew he had to keep his eyes on the battle.

"Noctowl, time to unleash that Fly attack we've been saving up!" he said, and Noctowl lightly dodged a Megahorn, then rose and fell like a bullet, slamming into Heracross from behind and attacking him with all of his might; wings, claws and beak. However, Heracross somehow managed to turn himself in mid-air, and finally battered Noctowl head-on with a punch from his chitinous fist. Noctowl's own barrage was interrupted, and Heracross took his chance to fully unleash his fury as he fought back, smashing everything he had against Noctowl with the force and finesse of a runaway train. "Noctowl, drop! Get out of there!" Silver cried, and Noctowl furled his wings, plummeting towards the ground in an uncontrolled descent as Heracross was left punching thin air. "Quickly, Fly again! Then Hypnosis!" Noctowl spread his wings and stopped an inch from the floor, turning his descent into an ascent and catapulting up to an airborne tackle that took Heracross unawares. Then, as the Bug Pokemon buzzed in to counter-attack, he was assailed with a delicate yet powerful swarm of mental impulses that almost instantly overcame him and sent him crashing to the ground in slumber.

"Heracross, no! Wake up!" Crystal cried, and it was with difficulty that Silver gave his next command;

"Noctowl, use your Peck to finish him off!" Noctowl swooped down and landed on top of Heracross, picking his spot before unleashing a critical Peck right between the eyes. Heracross' legs and arms went limper than ever and his demeanour changed from sleeping to fainted as he suffered the super-effective attack.

"Heracross, return. Great job, Silver. You and Noctowl were really good," Crystal said miserably, recalling her Pokemon.

"Don't worry, Crystal. We've still got two more battles left," Silver said encouragingly, returning Noctowl. "I'll tell you what, I'll release my Pokemon first this time. Go, Politoed!"

"Snorlax, I choose you!" Silver felt another twinge of pity as Snorlax appeared on the battle-field... asleep. His snores made the entire room tremble. "Snorlax..." Crystal whined, but he was deaf to her pleas.

"Politoed... try a Body Slam, to wake Snorlax up," Silver murmured, and Politoed nodded, leaping upwards and landing spread-eagled on Snorlax's wide belly. However, he merely bounced straight back off as if he had hit a trampoline, landing back on the floor actually worse for wear after his attack. He rubbed his head ruefully after his collision and hopped back up, ready for more orders. "Uh... OK. How about a Waterfall, then? To the head. Cold water will surely wake him up. But not too powerful, OK?" Politoed launched himself into the air, surrounding himself with water and slamming down on Snorlax's wide, blank face in a good imitation of a true attack. As he was doused in water, Snorlax finally gave off a great roar of surprise and grumpiness, rearing up into a sitting position and shaking the water off himself like a dog.

"Yes! Now you'd better watch out!" Crystal and Tyrogue punched the air happily and Silver hid a smile. "Snorlax, Pound!" Snorlax lumbered to his feet and charged at Politoed with surprising swiftness, battering him with a glowing arm and sending him reeling.

"Ouch! Sorry, Politoed. Let's get this battle going with a Surf, then," Politoed disgorged gallons of water as he prepared to mould a crashing wave to destroy his gargantuan foe.

"Snorlax, Body Slam!" Snorlax once again surprised everyone by bouncing upwards into the air, and Politoed's wave stopped in its tracks as the frog Pokemon atop it was stunned into immobility, seeing the massive creature blotting out the sun and falling towards him. Snorlax impacted with a huge crash of dissipating water, and Politoed was forced down through his own wave and pounded into the floor by his enemy's great weight.

"Politoed, are you OK?" Silver asked as Snorlax reared back up, revealing a flattened Politoed that was pressed into the floor like a pancake. Politoed groaned and peeled himself off the ground, aching all over but now focused on the win. "Let's try a Waterfall at our usual strength, then!" Politoed flew upwards, propelled by his jet of water, and hurtled down towards Snorlax surrounded by his globular shield.

"Snorlax, Rest!" Crystal ordered, and Snorlax keeled over onto his back, asleep. Politoed impacted with his huge stomach rather than his head as a result, and ended up bouncing off. He had struck it with so much force that he was bounced all the way over to the wall, slamming into it with painful force as Snorlax snored. The frog Pokemon limped to his feet, never having been so humiliated in his life.

"He's asleep now, Politoed, so he can't strike back! Let's get another Surf going!" Politoed again fashioned a towering wave that swept towards his sleeping foe vengefully.

"Snorlax, Snore!" Crystal said, and Snorlax's mouth opened wide and emitted a snore so loud that it created a blast of sonic energy. This hit the middle of Politoed's wave and exploded outwards, taking the frog Pokemon unawares and disintegrating his attack at the same time. Politoed limped over to the corner and curled up into a ball, unable to take such embarrassment.

"Politoed's unwilling to battle! Snorlax wins!" Scott announced.

"Politoed, return. Crystal, you really used Snorlax's strengths well there. Using Rest to actually counter my Waterfall was a great tactic," Silver encouraged her. Crystal glowed with happiness as she returned Snorlax.

"Thanks! Now, Tyrogue, it's your turn to take the field!" Tyrogue walked into the middle of the battle-field, limbering up for the fight, and Silver knew from watching him battle before that despite his small size he was very powerful, not to mention skilful.

"If you're going to use Tyrogue, I'd better send out Typhlosion!" Silver's oldest Pokemon appeared opposite Crystal's oldest Pokemon, and he reared up and roared before seeing who he was up against. He turned to Silver and whimpered, shaking his head. "Come on, Typhlosion! I know you don't want to battle them, but just think of it as training, not really anything serious," he pleaded, and Typhlosion turned back to face his foe, his misgivings obvious.

"Tyrogue, Mega Punch!" Crystal ordered, but Tyrogue was looking fidgety too, and Typhlosion was easily able to dodge his half-hearted attack.

"Typhlosion, Flamethrower!" Silver commanded, but this time Typhlosion ignored him completely. Both Pokemon walked towards the centre of the battle-field, Typhlosion on all fours with his flame-ruff out, and Tyrogue walking as if he was anywhere but a battle-field. Typhlosion grunted something, and Tyrogue nodded. Their incomprehensible conversation continued, consisting of only one or two syllables, but they were obviously discussing matters of deep importance. Eventually Typhlosion reared up and roared happily, and Tyrogue leapt and punched the air with a cry of,

"Tyrogue!"

"What's going on?" Silver asked Crystal.

"I don't think they want to fight each other. They're too good friends, I think. And so are we," Crystal replied, watching as the two Pokemon turned their backs on each other and refused to participate any further in the battle.

"Both are unwilling to battle, which results in a draw overall! You both win!" Scott cried happily, his hopes for a preserved friendship having been granted beyond his dreams.

"Or we both lose," Silver pointed out, and Crystal laughed.

"Always the optimist. Let's get out of here. We did our battle, and it ended the best way possible," Crystal said.

"The best suggestion I've heard all week," Silver agreed, and the three friends and their Pokemon vacated Trainer House as equals and still the greatest of friends. As they sat in the Pokemon Centre, having some lunch, everything seemed back to normal between them. Even Scott stayed for lunch, for once agreeing to put off his mysterious work until later. The Pokemon played happily, grateful that their rivalry was at an end, although Heracross could be seen eyeing Noctowl wrathfully from time to time. However, all of this was to change with one fateful phone call. As they discussed Silver's training plan for his Pokemon League challenge in a couple of weeks, his Pokegear buzzed, showing that for once someone was contacting him rather than the other way around. He flipped it open and said, "Hello?" A completely unexpected voice emanated from it; Anna, his mother.

"Silver, thank goodness you picked up! I've got some really big news. I'd tell you in person, but I'm tied up back here in New Bark Town with preparations. Your father has bought us a house in a place called Littleroot Town, in Hoenn. He said that we can all be a family together again, and put all the arguments about our distance behind us. We can move in as soon as we're ready!" Silver felt like he had been hit with Stun Spore or something similar, his mind frozen with shock. "Well? Honey, are you still there?" his mum finally asked.

"Yeah... I'm still here. But... _Hoenn_, Mum. It's so far away. My friends... the Pokemon League... I'll have to leave them all behind..." he pleaded.

"Silver, please. This is a chance for us to all be together again. No more disappointments, no more arguments, no more Pokemon battles getting in the way of his family duties. You can keep in contact with your friends via the Pokegear, can't you? And there's a Pokemon League in Hoenn, a completely new one, as well as lots of new Pokemon for you to meet," Silver swallowed as he realised there would be no getting out of it. It would be selfish of him to demand staying put in Johto, when it could hurt his family relationships. His mother wouldn't move if he set himself firmly in staying, but she would also be disappointed. Disappointed in not being closer to Norman, his father, and disappointed in him, although she would never admit it. Disappointment was one thing he could never cope with. He turned to see that Scott and Crystal were rapt, then looked back to the Pokegear.

"OK, Mum. I'll arrange to get to New Bark Town as soon as I can. Just... can I just say some goodbyes first?" he wanted to explain more fully, but found his throat obstructed.

"Of course. Just phone me when you're on your way," Anna replied comfortingly, and put down the phone. Silver flipped the Pokegear shut with trembling fingers.

"Well..." he said, but couldn't think of anything to say to finish the sentence off.

"I can't believe it! You can't be leaving! We're the solid team of Silver and Crystal!" Crystal said, her eyes wide and trembling.

"That... that's so weird. The universe must have some sort of compassion, or bad sense of humour, or something..." Scott murmured, and the other two looked at him.

"What d'you mean?" Silver asked.

"Well, my job's taking me to Hoenn really soon. It's nearly finished, and Hoenn's the last place I need to explore, just to finalise everything. So it looks like we'll be staying together. And I thought it was me who would have to make the tearful goodbye today..." he sighed, rubbing his forehead as if trying to stimulate his brain.

"No! You can't both leave! Crystal and Tyrogue, marooned in Johto..." Crystal said, and her voice was definitely shaking now; she jumped to her feet and sped off, Tyrogue following behind.

"Crystal, come back! Scott, can you look after the Pokemon, please?" Silver said hurriedly, getting up to run after Crystal.

"Sure. You're the person she needs right now," Scott replied cryptically, and Silver dashed off after his best friend as fast as he could. When she was nowhere to be found in the Pokemon Centre, he scoured the city, Togetic on his shoulder, and eventually found her and Tyrogue sitting together on a ledge just to the west of town, looking up at the Indigo Plateau, upon which rested the Pokemon League. He sat down beside her, his legs hanging over the precipice like hers, and said,

"Don't worry, Crystal. We'll keep in touch. We won't just forget you," Crystal looked up at him and there were definite tears glittering in her eyes.

"You'd better not. And just to make sure..." She drew back her hand and Silver prepared himself for a shoulder-punch that he would never forget, but she surprised him completely by darting forwards and pecking him quickly on the lips.

"Wow... what was that for?" Silver said eventually, feeling as if his mind had melted, but in a strangely good way.

"Just in case there are many pretty girls in Hoenn..." Crystal replied, more tears flowing from her eyes than ever as she looked away, her face reddening.

"How could I ever even look at any other girl, Crystal? It's always been you..." Silver said, and although the words sounded like they were coming out of someone else's mouth, he found that they were true.

"It's always been us. Ever since I saw you coming out of Sprout Tower that time, just having caught Gastly..." she giggled in a waterlogged way.

"Yeah. And you jumped me and threatened me with your martial arts unless I battled you," Silver remembered, cherishing the memories he had forgotten he still retained.

"Then Tyrogue battled with Gastly, and couldn't even touch him. Even then, I knew you were a great battler. And now look at you... weeks away from the Champion title, and you're off to some strange land, and we'll never see each other again..." she said in a rush, shaking slightly with the weight of her words.

"Of course we'll see each other again. If I have to commandeer a plane, I'll fly back and see you whenever I can. I'll call and write and whatever you want, whenever you want," he promised, and they hugged each other tighter than ever before.

"Me too. I'll keep you updated on Tyrogue, Hitmontop, Heracross and Snorlax. Just make sure that your Pokemon don't get too powerful; we wouldn't want things to be too easy,"

"And make sure Snorlax doesn't get too fat, and Heracross doesn't go berserk every time he sees another Pokemon," Silver replied, and he looked at the ecstatic Togetic on his shoulder thoughtfully. "Togetic, I want you to stay here with your daddy. I'd buy you chocolates and flowers, but I think that Togetic symbolises my feelings better. Take care of each other," Togetic fluttered over to Crystal's shoulder and sang a haunting but heart-warming melody, a tribute to the feelings he sensed between them and a goodbye to his adoptive mother.

"I'd prefer the chocolate," Crystal joked, and stroked Togetic's head-spike delicately.

"Tyrogue!" Tyrogue jumped and punched the air, looking from Silver to Crystal excitedly as he picked up on their happiness. As they sat together, looking up at the Pokemon League Silver was destined not to challenge again, Crystal put her head on Silver's shoulder as he put his arm around hers, and they savoured this one last peaceful moment in each other's company.

**The End**

Thank you for reading Silver: The Kanto Adventure. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks also to everyone who reviewed or Private Messaged me to tell me their thoughts, it was much appreciated. Sorry about any grammatical / punctuation errors in either 'Silver's Adventure' or the Kanto Adventure. If I get any demands for 'Silver: The Hoenn Adventure', I'll write it and upload it as fast as I can, but you'll have to say in reviews or Private Messages whether you want this to happen, or else I won't know. Thanks again for reading, and I really do hope you liked the story as much as I liked writing it.


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